Decorum Est
by LoquitorLatinae
Summary: Modern AU. Marcus is a busy officer of the law with a son from a failed marriage and some luggage from a earlier military career. Full-time student Esca makes money from baby-sitting. Marcus/Esca.
1. Chapter 1

Written for a the_eagle_kink community prompt.

Prompt: Marcus is a high level lawyer/military official/other and has a small child from a previous (failed) relationship. He needs a baby-sitter/child-minder/whatever. Esca is a full-time student who needs money. Marcus hires Esca and everything is wonderfully simple. Until it isn't.  
>Cue mixed signals, both thinking the other isn't interestedgay, awkward moments when Marcus' PA/Child's mother comes back into the picture and tries to get back with Marcus and cute fluffy scenes.

* * *

><p>Marcus loved his job as a police officer. He wouldn't change it for the world. Certainly, it was the best option for him – an honorably discharged Army officer. He had been wounded too badly to continue fighting the front lines – and fuck but nightmares of that day still haunted him – but after extensive, and often painful physical therapy, he had been able-bodied enough to fight on a more local level, namely the streets of his hometown, Calleva. Not that Calleva was small, it was large enough to have a university campus, three movie theaters, two shopping malls, four gang affiliations and a courthouse, but his new brand of service had so far proven to be a good deal less life-threatening than his previous one.<p>

Which was undoubtedly for the best, as much as he missed the action sometimes. He still hadn't gotten out of the habit of wearing his dog tags around everywhere, at this point they had become as much symbolic as anything else, a reminder to himself of what he had been and the duties he still had to do as an officer of the law. Having them against his chest kept his standards up, which made him feel a little better about his job change.

After all, he was getting older and the wound to his thigh had been bad. That, and the return to the States had allowed him to reenter the dating world. As it turned out, a lot of girls found the wounded soldier bit really hot (which he didn't understand but he had definitely not complained). He had scored a steady girlfriend just two weeks after returning to normal society. Amanda was young and beautiful with long brown hair and big breasts and a fantastic smile. Marcus had instantly fallen for her. Sure she was a little more social than he was and wanted to go out to the bars and clubs often, but he had told himself that they were young and it was good that at least _one_ of them acted their age since he himself had the shut-in habits of an old man.

Still, he had made sure that their dates were enjoyable and that he treated her well. It was actually nice to have someone to spend money on. He had made it to the rank of Major during his time in service and his paycheck had always gone directly into his bank account to gather dust since he hadn't had any reason to use it. So he was never bothered by her spending because it always gave him a sense of fulfillment and he had plenty of cash to burn, especially since he was now starting to receive retirement checks from the military as well. At the very least, when she was at home, Amanda brightened the entire apartment. The sex was also phenomenal, even if they had to work in ways to do it so that Amanda didn't have to constantly look at the gash on his thigh.

His life had gotten even better when he had been accepted into the police academy. For a while there, Marcus' life had been perfect. He had sprinted through academy training with flying colors and had gotten a job on the force within six months, immediately working the streets and quickly working up the ranks to the position of Sergeant. It had been exhilarating to wear a uniform again, to be an instantly recognizable symbol of authority, trust, and honor. He had finally felt like himself again, inside and out.

When Amanda had announced that she was pregnant that following New Year's Eve (the confession having been prompted when she had refused the offered champagne), just eight months into their relationship, Marcus had been shocked but ecstatic. He had always wanted to be a father, to raise a family, to be part of a close family unit ever since his own father and mother had passed away years ago. He had even asked Amanda to marry him. She had said yes, of course, squealing and gushing out words of endearment as she threw her arms around him.

That was, however, when the trouble had started. Since Amanda was pregnant, she couldn't go out drinking and she quickly got tired of staying at home. She would spend hours out with her friends but the truth was that there wasn't much for her to do after dark that didn't involve alcohol so she began spending her evenings with Marcus. It made Marcus feel bad since he knew he wasn't the most fun guy to be around. He had heard _that_ enough times during his service days.

Amanda had also discovered the pitfalls of being married to a police officer. Without meaning to or even noticing, Marcus could work late into the night if he didn't watch the clock carefully, getting into messes that would keep him hours longer than initially anticipated. There was also the constant danger of being injured. To Marcus, this was all part of the job he had signed up for. To Amanda, they had been points of contention.

By the time that their son, Rowan, was born, their marriage was tense. For five _long_ years they lived with each other and a roller-coaster of emotions, their interactions reeling from passionate love one night to screaming and fits of silent rage the next. Marcus had come to terms with the fact that he may have rushed into his initial marriage proposal too quickly. He was somehow still shocked when Amanda had dropped the divorce papers into his lap late one night while he was watching the news. He also hadn't expected that she would push full-custody of Rowan onto him with the excuse that she wanted to be single and unattached while she was still young and that she couldn't handle a child at this stage in her life anymore.

So now, at thirty-four years of age, Marcus Aquila was the divorced father of a five-year-old rambunctious little boy. His life had already been filled with a military career, a near-death battle wound, nearly six years of police service under his belt and all he felt now was ragged and run-down. Rowan was a fantastic kid and literally the love of Marcus' life, not difficult with the kid's sun-tanned, freckled skin, big green eyes and his ridiculous mop of dark brown hair, but being a single parent was hard. It had only been six months since Amanda had left and Marcus was _exhausted_.

It was impossible to balance an unpredictable career like his where he could be called in at all hours, day or night, and caring for a five-year-old child. He did have a day-care service to watch Rowan during the day but still, finding the time to drop him off and pick him up during the service's hours of operation was a never-ending struggle. The only time that Marcus had any sort of break were the occasional weekends Rowan would spend with Marcus' uncle. The older man had a country estate and quite frankly loved doting on his grand-nephew.

There were days that he sort of missed the dirty, gritty, front lines of battle – they seemed so much simpler now.

Leaning back in his chair with a tired grunt, Marcus stretched out the crick in his neck as he sent his latest report off to his Chief. This particular Friday had already been long and it wasn't even three o'clock yet. Marcus rubbed his thigh at the memory of the drug dealer he had been forced to follow after a car chase had turned into a foot chase. Sure, Marcus had eventually tackled and cuffed the guy, but he had definitely strained his leg in the process. That was the problem with getting older; his old wounds were beginning to return to haunt him for longer periods as he continued to push himself. It didn't help that since he was Sergeant, not only did he have to write up a report for his own incident, he also had to help review the daily reports of all the officers under his watch shift – which, admittedly, was only about ten since Calleva was not such a big city, but still.

Marcus was suddenly startled out of his thoughts when his cell phone rang, its vibration function setting off a ripple across his entire desk, and Marcus dove to answer it. While personal calls weren't normally proper protocol for on-duty hours, only a handful of people had his private number and yes, it was the daycare. With a heavy sigh, Marcus lifted the phone to his ear. "Marcus Aquila here."

"_Mr. Aquila? This is Cottia from Misty Hill Daycare._"

His first concern was instinctual. "Is Rowan alright? Did something happen?"

"_Your son's just fine but he got into a fight with one of the other children and needs to be taken home._"

With a soft groan, Marcus pulled the phone away just long enough to choke it out of frustration. When he had collected himself enough to respond though, his voice sounded pathetic even to him. "Can't you keep him there until six? I'm going to be very busy today and-"

"_Mr. Aquila, you don't understand. Rowan might be okay but the other boy had a sprained wrist and several bruises. Your son _can't_ stay here today, its protocol to send him home_."

Protocol was something that Marcus could begrudgingly understand so with an apologetic goodbye and a sheaf of paperwork to fill out tucked under his arm, Marcus left the precinct early and started driving toward the daycare. It really wasn't a surprise that Rowan had acted out. With how much time Marcus needed to dedicate to his work, he wasn't always able to spend as much time with his son as either of them liked, and he knew the boy was suffering from the lack of stability. Still, that didn't make him any less frustrated as he pulled into the driveway of his son's daycare service, the cheery and colorful sign and front door declaring the converted vintage house to be "Misty Hills Daycare."

Rowan and Cottia were waiting in the front sitting room-turned-office. His boy at least had the grace to look ashamed, curled into himself in his chair so far that his tousled hair covered his eyes from view. When Marcus stepped into the room, however, the little boy's head snapped up, big green eyes wide and anxious. Setting his face into a stern glower, the type he would use on one of his subordinate officers if he had done something wrong, Marcus locked gazes with him – Rowan was in trouble and he needed to know it. "Go wait in the front hall while I speak to Cottia."

Rowan shot off of his chair as if it was electrified, eyes locked on the ground and cheeks red from shame as he darted past his father. As soon as he was out of the room, Marcus sighed, running a hand over his hair. "Cottia, I'm sorry for this. I don't know what got into him."

Cottia smiled wryly. "Look Mr. Aquila, Marcus. I've been taking care of Rowan for a while now and I really love him. The kid's a sweetheart and you're literally one of my favorite parents. And I know you work hard and have a busy schedule but Marcus, that kid _needs_ more one-on-one time. This bad behavior that's started up is only going to get worse, and that's not good since he's starting kindergarten this fall, right?"

Marcus nodded. He'd signed Rowan up for kindergarten only last month. It was amazing how fast the kid had grown up.

Tucking a loose strand of her fiery red hair behind her ear, Cottia caught his attention again by reaching into her desk and pulling out a pen and pad of paper. "As much as I hate losing customers, I want to introduce you to the idea of private baby-sitting, at least part-time. I'm writing down the number of a service I know and trust. The people they hire are always fantastic, in fact I used to work for them myself until I opened my own business. I don't know if this is something you might be interested in, but this company provides sitters who come to your house and look after your kid on site. It gives the kid a greater sense of stability and allows the parents a bit of leeway since the individual sitter is paid by the hour and generally has a much more flexible schedule than businesses like mine. My advice is to consider that as an option – if not for your own sanity then for Rowan's benefit."

Marcus took the card and assured Cottia that he would give the idea some thought. And he did, during the entire drive back to their home. His thoughtful silence also had the benefit of making Rowan squirm in the back seat, the young boy still too small to legally sit up front with him. Two minutes from their house, the kid finally snapped and anxiously lunged forward to tug on the sleeve of Marcus' uniform, "Dad?"

Marcus remained silent.

"Dad? It wasn't my fault, Tommy was being mean!"

Still nothing. Marcus was going to make his son sweat it out for a bit. Pulling into their driveway, Marcus turned the car off then got out of the car to open up his son's door. Rowan was staring up at him with green eyes so wide that terrible punishments had to be circling around in his young mind, undoubtedly getting worse and worse at his father's extended silence. By the time they were at the front door, the poor kid had tears in his eyes and Marcus felt his resolve break. As soon as they were inside the house, he stooped down so that he and his son were on eye level. Using his best father/authoritative-cop voice, he spoke low and slow, "Rowan, what you did today was wrong. Fighting never solves anything, it only makes problems worse. Now, because you fought, you're not getting dessert and there's not going to be any TV time tonight."

Marcus might as well have condemned the kid to death by the way that he teared up, full bottom lip trembling. Instead of breaking down into tears though, Rowan struck out at him, tiny fists hitting hard enough to unbalance his crouch. As Marcus toppled over, Rowan bolted for his room, closing it with a terrified slam.

On the floor, Marcus huffed out a deep sigh. Suddenly he didn't have the strength to get up. Groaning, he dug the palms of his hands against his closed eyes – he was trying his best but honestly, it was all just too overwhelming. Work was piling up and his kid was only ever mad or scared of him (he had only seen Rowan smile twice since Amanda had left and that had been over dessert and a new video game, respectively). Even housework was beginning to pile up – dishes needed to be washed, laundry needed to be done and Marcus hadn't vacuumed in what seemed like forever which was, quick frankly, disturbing since he had always been meticulous before. His two story, four bedroom house that had once seemed so luxurious now seemed only cavernous, lonely, and too much for him to take care of on his own.

When he finally had the strength to push himself upright, Marcus stared numbly at the card Cottia had given him. Maybe he should give it a try. The redheaded woman wouldn't have suggested it otherwise and Marcus trusted her judgment. Decision made, Marcus resolved to call the service first thing in the morning. Tonight, he had dinner to make and paperwork to fill out.

When he called the baby-sitting service, Calleva Sitters ("We provide all the help a busy family needs!"), the woman at the other end of the line had been helpful and sympathetic, and had promised to send someone over that afternoon who matched his needs. She went on to assure him that every single one of their sitters received a thorough background check and was screened before the service ever put them on their contact list. Marcus was happy to hear that, but he was also just grateful that it was Saturday. As long as the Chief didn't call, he'd have no trouble meeting his potential sitter. It was also somewhat of a relief when Rowan voluntarily came out of his room to watch Saturday morning cartoons. His son had been sullen with him right up until bedtime last night. He hadn't even wanted a bedtime story, a pre-sleep tradition that they both found some comfort in. Today though, he seemed a little less angry, and even perked up somewhat when Marcus agreed to let him play video games for a while.

The hours passed by quickly and before Marcus knew it there was a knock on his front door. Rowan was at this point in the back yard playing so Marcus glanced back once at his son from the family room window before heading toward the door. What he saw when he opened it was not what he had been expecting.

Marcus had expected a woman of some sort – either a college-aged girl or the Mary Poppins type. What was on his doorstep instead was a young man dressed in too-tight dark wash jeans and a graphic tee that showed off skinny arms and torso, the strap of a messenger bag cutting across the image. A plaid scarf was also wrapped around his neck and a pageboy hat was stuffed over a head full of mousy blond hair and ears too big for his face. His face was as sharp and angular as his body and for a second, those blue-grey eyes met his in such a sharp gaze that Marcus couldn't help but wonder what the hell this guy was doing on his doorstep.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then, the young man shuffled awkwardly and then asked in a rough mumble, "Are you Marcus Aquila?"

Marcus nodded.

A little relief struck the young man's face and he stiffly threw out his hand. "I'm Esca McCunoval. From Calleva Sitters?"

The introduction snapped Marcus back to attention and he took a step back after quickly shaking the kid's hand, suddenly hyper-aware of how big and solidly he was built. "Uh, yeah" Marcus shook his head, "Sorry. Come in."

"Not what you were expecting?" Esca had an accent. British. No, Scottish? Marcus couldn't quite tell but he led the younger man into his sitting room and waved to the leather couches.

"Uh, it's not that. I mean, yes, but it's alright." Marcus cursed inwardly as Esca gracefully took a seat. He had no idea why he was getting tongue-tied. The kid had caught him off-guard but he was normally so much more composed. Trying to pull himself together, Marcus sat down and squared his shoulders. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry it was on such short notice."

Esca waved his hand, "It's no big deal. There have been worse cases and it's not as if you need me tonight, right?" His eyes were boring into Marcus' again, suddenly questioning.

"Erm, no. I've got tonight covered."

"Right, then. So, what are you going to need me for?"

It didn't escape Marcus' notice that Esca was approaching this as if he had already been hired. Whether it was because of brazenness or overconfidence, Marcus didn't know, but he found that it didn't bother him so much as it usually did. For whatever reason, this kid wore it well. "My son, Rowan. He's five years old and a few months from kindergarten. For whatever reason, he's not doing well in day-care so when Cottia suggested I call you, I thought I might as well try."

He had Esca's full attention now. "Cottia? She's been watching your son?"

"Yes, for the past few months. My wife and I just got divorced and I've been given full custody of Rowan and I just," Marcus paused, wondering why he was telling Esca his entire life's story but unable to stop, "I can't handle it any more. I can't balance my job and time with my son. I need someone who can watch him later on in the day, someone who will be able to pick him up from school and keep him entertained until I get home."

Esca was frowning now, and when Marcus stopped, the younger man crossed his arms over his knees. Already perched at the edge of the couch, he looked ready to spring forward at a moment's notice. "Here's what I can offer." Suddenly it felt as if Marcus was making a deal with the mafia with the way Esca was talking, "Until your son starts school, I can watch him Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from about two to seven. Mondays and Wednesdays, I can't help until six, but that's when Cottia closes things up so if you need to I can pick him up from daycare and help out for about an hour. I can even make him dinner if you want on those days and snacks the rest of the time as well."

"That would be a huge help." And it would. Being able to have even those few hours would give Marcus a lot of solid time to get work done. Rowan would have to go back to Misty Hills for the full other two days and the mornings, but promised one-on-one time with his own adult might help Rowan a long way.

"My wage would be $15 an hour."

Marcus nodded his head absently, "Yeah, of course." Despite Esca's sharp gaze, that amount of money would be more than easy to provide for greater peace of mind. But before he got carried away, "Before anything's official, I'm going to need your resume, references, and you're going to have to be compatible with my son."

As if expecting the demands, Esca whipped out two pieces of paper from his side bag and then stood up. "While you're looking at those, why don't I go talk to your kid?"

Leading Esca into the family room, a little more cluttered and homey than the formal sitting room, Marcus set the papers onto his desk then stuck his head out the back door, calling out to the back yard in general. "Rowan, come inside, someone's here that I want you to meet!"

Rowan's brown nest of hair bounced out from inside his play structure and within the minute he was at Marcus' side. He stalled though, as soon as he saw Esca, young gaze wary as he grabbed onto Marcus' pant leg.

Esca though, just smiled and crouched down and suddenly Marcus was looking at a whole different person. Where Esca had been standoffish and sharp before he was now warm and friendly, like a switch had been turned on as soon as he had seen Marcus' son. "Hey, there, Rowan. I'm your new babysitter, Esca."

Marcus fought against rolling his eyes as he felt his son's tiny glare shoot up at him. Then, Rowan's anger turned onto the stranger in the room. "I'm not a baby! And I already go to day care, I don't need you."

Instead of getting mad, Esca's smile only widened. "Come on, we could have a lot of fun together! And you'll still be going to day care most of the time – I'll just be coming to pick you up and hang out at home with you for a while." His voice dropped to a stage whisper, "That way, when your dad finally comes home, he'll have gotten all his work done and he can play with you more. Plus, I can make you whatever you want for dinner. It'll be fantastic."

"Even Mac and Cheese whenever I want? The kind with the shapes?"

"Every single day if you want it."

Rowan remained silent but Marcus knew that his son had been won over. Hell, Marcus had been won over by that soft, accented voice. So long as Esca didn't turn out to have anything bad on his records, Marcus was ready to hire. The kid was good.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to BungiePikachu and Hinatasara for your reviews! Now on with the story!

O

o

* * *

><p>Two days later, Monday, saw Marcus at his desk at six o'clock. He was trying to fill out paperwork – there was <em>always<em> paperwork to be done – but at the moment his mind was entirely elsewhere, pen beating an off-tune rhythm against his desk. It was no surprise when his partner, an old, grisly cop named Guern, finally snapped from the other side of the desk. "Look, if you want to call him, call him. Or don't. I don't care. Just stop doing what you're doing."

Marcus sheepishly stopped tapping, though his grip on his pen never faltered. "I don't want to seem too nervous."

"For Chrissakes, it's your kid and it's the first time he's being picked up by a stranger. It's okay to be nervous."

Marcus shook his head but nevertheless pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open and scrolling down his short list of personal contacts until he hit _Esca_ _McCunoval_. Esca. Marcus had done a background check on the kid – it was his prerogative as an officer of the law – and had found a clean slate. Well, of sorts. Esca had apparently only been in the States for college. Marcus hadn't been able to access his files from Scotland, but he had sent in a request for the information. He had no idea if he would actually ever receive it, or when, but he considered it worth the effort. But Marcus had gone ahead and hired Esca anyway.

Marcus nearly started out of his chair when his phone suddenly went off in his hand, a cheerful chime announcing that he had received a text message. Marcus didn't often send them himself, but he did vaguely know how to access them and after only one misstep managed to bring the message onto the little screen.

_Back home. See you in an hour._

Seeing a miniature scroll bar on the right side of the screen, Marcus maneuvered the message down until he saw that it was an image and smiled. Esca had taken a snapshot of Rowan at the kitchen table. His son was bent over what looked like one of the voluntary homework assignments that the day care offered which was, quite frankly, shocking judging by how difficult it was for Marcus to make Rowan even _pick up_ a pencil, using it for homework notwithstanding.

"Aquila!"

Marcus' head snapped up, smile dropping from his face as Guern slammed his phone down into the receiver. He hadn't even heard the thing ring. "Just got a call about a 415 in progress on Fifth and D. All other units are occupied. Let's go."

"Right." A disturbance. Usually that wasn't anything too bad – not in Calleva anyway, where the usual level of disturbance was a frat party getting too noisy for the neighbors. As high ranking as he and Guern were in the precinct, they didn't always have to deal with basic trouble like this anymore but sometimes when everyone else was busy they were called to step up. Marcus never complained – he was happy to help serve in any way that he could – but it could put a hitch in his schedule. With any luck, though, Marcus would be able to make it home on time.

It was 7:16 when Marcus stepped up to his front door, a few minutes late but not too bad considering that the disturbance had turned out more to be a 390, a _very_ drunk guy stumbling through the middle of the busy intersection. Marcus may have jumped the gun on putting him in cuffs, but the man clearly would not have passed any of the sobriety tests, especially considering that he couldn't even stay on the sidewalk not to mention a straight line. Guern hadn't been particularly happy with him but it wasn't as if he was breaking any of the rules so the older man had let it slide and had even taken over the booking so that Marcus could sprint back to the locker rooms to change out of his uniform.

So, all in all, sixteen minutes late was really fairly good. As he stepped inside the house, however, Marcus was instantly struck by the fact that there was no noise. The TV wasn't even on in the family room, which was what Marcus had been expecting. Hackles rising, Marcus began to check his house room by room for his son and the new babysitter, almost ready to sprint upstairs when he heard a laugh. A child's laugh. And it came from the back.

Relief washed over Marcus, his heart rate slowly subsiding back to a normal level as he marched to the back door. There, out on the lawn, Esca was playing soccer with Rowan. It wasn't much of a game, they were just kicking the ball back and forth, but his son looked happy, big green eyes dancing with delight as Esca comically lunged for one of his more wayward shots.

For a few minutes, Marcus just watched them. Then he remembered that Esca must be wondering where the hell he was and pulled the sliding back door open. The noise immediately caught the other two's attention, Rowan perking up and Esca just giving him a nod. "Dad, you're home!"

"Yeah," and Marcus couldn't help his grin as Rowan tackled him, wrapping his arms around his knee. It had been a while since his son had expressed such happiness at seeing him and it made Marcus' heart melt a little. "Did you have fun with Esca today?"

Rowan nodded, his face suddenly very serious as he tugged on Marcus' sleeve. His father dutifully leaned down so that Rowan could whisper into his ear, "I think he should pick me up again from day care."

"Oh, yeah?" Marcus met Esca's gaze and he smiled at the young man briefly before looking at his son. "So you're okay with him picking you up tomorrow too?" A nod. "Like him enough for the rest of the week?" Another nod. "Alright then. Why don't you go play in your room for a bit so I can talk to Esca for a second, okay?"

Rowan pouted at this but dutifully went back into the house, leaving Marcus and Esca alone in the backyard. The setting sun had turned everything a rosy gold, Esca's grey-blue eyes contrasting all the more as he kicked the soccer ball he and Rowan had been playing with into his arms. Marcus waited until he had come close enough until he spoke, not needing to be so loud that Rowan would be able to easily hear them. "So everything went alright?"

Esca nodded curtly and again Marcus was struck by the personality change between Esca around kids and Esca around grownups. "Yes. It was just an hour and a half but I had him do one of those work activities Cottia makes up and then made him dinner – macaroni and cheese, before you ask. We had only been playing outside for about ten minutes before you got here."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for keeping you late."

Esca shrugged, "As long as you pay me, I don't really care so long as you're not two hours late or anything."

Marcus wasn't quite sure how to react to that. On one hand, the blond kid's apparent flexibility was a very good thing. On the other, his nonchalant frigidness was definitely disconcerting. "Right, well, thanks all the same for staying late. I'll pay you for the entire extra hour today. I'll going to try and call ahead with some sort of heads up if I'm going to be late from now on but until I can get into that habit I'll pay you for whatever time I run over and round up to the next hour. If that's okay with you."

"That works just fine. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

Marcus nodded. It was nice to see that Esca looked mildly happy, even though that was most likely because of the promise of extra money. But still, now that Marcus was here Esca clearly thought that it was his immediate chance to leave and after only a quick call of goodbye up the stairs to Rowan he was off, the door creaking shut behind him.

The next few weeks passed by quickly as the Aquila household and their new addition fell into a sort of rhythm. Life wasn't perfect, but was sure as hell a lot easier. On Marcus, certainly, but also on Rowan. His boy was clearly happier now that he was getting individual attention. He had stopped being so angry and was getting along better with the other kids when he did have day care. When Marcus came home, Rowan had even gotten in the habit of crawling onto his father's lap, tousled brown hair nestled against Marcus' chest as they watched an evening program or movie together.

Now though, it was Friday again and specifically, it was the second Friday of the month, which meant that it was well-past time to wash his uniform. Some of the other officers swore up and down that they would only have their uniform dry-cleaned but Marcus saw nothing wrong with a gentle wash cycle followed by a careful ironing. The effect was always the same and he was able to save a little bit of money, and have a little more peace of mind, if he just did the job himself. So he didn't bother changing out of his navy-blue uniform after his shift ended at seven, instead bundling up his plain clothes into a duffle that he threw in the passenger seat of his car.

When he got home, Esca's beat-up used car was, as usual, parked along the street, leaving the driveway open for Marcus. Stepping into the house, Marcus smiled at the instant atmosphere. Something involving onions, garlic, and beef was cooking for dinner and the lights were on back in the kitchen and family room from where the echoing sound of child's laughter and action-packed sound effects could be heard. Quietly investigating, Marcus found Esca and Rowan sprawled out on the floor on a nest of cushions taken from the couches. Both were watching the television screen intently, game controllers gripped tightly in their hands as they raced each other in little cartoon cars on screen. They were clearly getting into it, tugging the controllers side to side in relation to their attempts at steering, Rowan crying out in triumph as his car pulled ahead in the race only to all but howl as his car suddenly flipped over from a too-tight turn and he spun off the road, Esca taking the lead just momentarily before his son managed to catch back up.

Marcus waited until the race had finished, with his son winning just by seconds, until he broke their concentration by clapping his hands. "Good driving, you two."

Both of them started and turned around at the sound. Rowan released a little chirp of happiness to see his father home but Esca's reaction was priceless, the young man almost tumbling over himself in an attempt to clamber onto his feet. It was the least graceful Marcus had ever seen him, and he couldn't help but chuckle when Esca stopped moving long enough to get a look at his face and visibly swallowed back a curse. "Sh-Marcus!" He had stopped calling Marcus 'Mr. Aquila' nearly a week ago and Marcus found that he liked it, "make a little noise when you come home next time!" Not a beat passed before his blond eyebrows furrowed, a touch of embarrassed flush touching pale cheeks. "I barely recognized you in that uniform."

"My dad's a cop!" Rowan chimed, voice awestruck. It always helped Marcus' motivation that his son thought he was a superhero.

Esca swallowed, "Yeah, I don't think he ever made mention of that."

"It's not something I'm used to sharing." Marcus shrugged with a smile as he scooped Rowan up into an embrace, much to his giggling son's amusement. "But, this uniform has to be washed sooner or later." He turned his attention to his boy, "My secret got out! Looks like you were having fun though, you were pretty good at that game!"

Rowan nodded eagerly, barely able to contain his excitement as he grabbed onto Marcus' shirt, "You should play me next, Dad!"

Shaking his head, Marcus rumbled, "I think I'd lose pretty quickly!"

Rowan's expression fell a little, but before he could say anything else, Esca interrupted their conversation. "Before you do anything else, kid, it's time for dinner. You wanted to wait until your Dad was home and now he is."

Marcus' gaze flashed over to Esca's. "You didn't have to wait for me."

"We normally don't."

"I said we should," Rowan spoke up, "Esca said he was making a big meal and so I said we should wait for you so you could help eat it. He said we shouldn't since you might have already eaten but you haven't, have you?"

Marcus didn't have the heart to tell the kid that he'd had a late afternoon lunch around four o'clock and wasn't feeling particularly hungry at the moment so instead he shook his head. "Nope. Haven't had dinner yet. Go ahead and wash up while we get the food ready, okay?"

Rowan nodded and as soon as Marcus had lowered him to the ground the kid was off toward the bathroom. Marcus waited until his son was out of sight before murmuring to Esca as they moved into the kitchen, "Sorry about this. I don't mean to keep making you stay late."

Esca shrugged, moving around the kitchen like he owned the place as he grabbed plates, cups, and silverware. "It's not really any trouble." After a pause, "You don't even have to pay me for this hour since I'm getting a free meal out of you."

Marcus definitely heard the teasing lilt to Esca's tone and it made him smile uncontrollably. "What a relief. So what did you make for dinner that smells so good?"

Another shrug, but Esca went to the oven, glove mitts on and ready. "Nothing spectacular, just cottage pie. A very cheap watered-down version, mind you, so don't expect much. I wasn't really expecting to satisfy anything more than a five-year-old when I made it."

It was the longest string of sentences that Esca had put together in front of Marcus and the older man couldn't help but notice that the other's ears had turned a bit pink during his confession. His brows were furrowed again though as if he was angry at himself for getting embarrassed so Marcus tried to alleviate his irritation with a soft chuckle. "Don't worry about me. I think that even Rowan has a more sophisticated palate than I do. A few too many meals out of foil packets has pretty much killed any sort of restrictions on what I see as edible food." And wasn't that true. Military Ready to Eat rations were handy to have on the front lines since they cooked themselves in their bags, but tasting the food had always come second to getting it into your system. On the plus side, Marcus had learned the ability to choke entire meals down in under five minutes, but eating still hadn't been the most fun part of his army career.

Which was why he was hardly ever picky about the food he ate anymore, and why Esca's cottage pie, even though it was clearly the version learned by college students just trying to get by, looked fantastic to his undiscerning tastes. So as Esca pulled the casserole dish out to allow it time to cool Marcus went about setting the kitchen table, the older man pleased when he saw his son's homework spread out and completed on top of it. Just another point for Esca, then.

As soon as Rowan rejoined them, the three boys dug into their meal. It was basic, but good, and gave Marcus that extra bit of confidence that he had at least chosen a baby-sitter who could keep his son's stomach full and content. Looking over the table, Marcus smiled his thanks at Esca. Esca smirked, shaking his head a little but didn't say anything, just continued to eat his portion. For whatever reason, it looked like he belonged there – the table had seemed so empty since Amanda had left. The extra body just filled that space, even if right now it was just the body of a scrawny college boy who could only cook at an adequate level and got along better with children than people his own age.

When the meal ended, Rowan immediately darted off toward the TV to continue his game, picking the player versus computer option as he started a new race. Marcus began to pick up the plates, knowing that Esca had done enough and that he had been off the clock for a while. He was surprised then when he felt another presence close in on him, tilting his head to regard Esca as the lean young man moved beside him. "I think you should play Rowan's game."

Marcus blinked. "What?"

"The game. He wants to play with you. You should. See you Monday."

And just like that he was gone, leaving a sort of void in his wake and Marcus suddenly felt awkward. Esca had so obviously gotten along with Rowan that Marcus now had to wonder if he could do the same for his son, uncertain if he could create that sort of fun environment on his own. Pursing his lips, Marcus nevertheless walked around the couch and lowered himself down onto the pile of cushions that Esca and Rowan had laid out.

His son appeared to be focused entirely on the game, small body curled around his game controller, but Marcus had seen the way that Rowan had stiffened a little when Marcus approached, how his fingers had frozen for just a second when Marcus had actually sat down next to him. Desperate to break the sudden tension that had filled the room, and futilely wishing that Esca would for some reason burst back into the house to help with the situation, Marcus cleared his throat. "So…I was wondering if I could play with you?"

Marcus might have well asked if Rowan wanted to live at Disneyland for a month with the way that his son's eyes lit up with anticipation – in fact the obvious depth of his happiness made Marcus wish that he had asked months earlier. After a scramble for the other controller, Rowan pushed it into Marcus' hand and settled right at his father's side. "You're going to be Player 2 then, okay?"

"Sounds good," Marcus frowned as he looked down at the foreign device in his hand. He had never been the gamer type – more of a jock really. "How does it work?"

"I'll start a new game and I'll show you. I'll go slow until you know how to do it better though." The matter-of-fact way that Rowan was speaking, his bubbly tone, the way that his eyes were shining with mirth – all of these made Marcus infinitely glad that he had followed Esca's suggestion. As the new race started on the screen, Marcus shifted his weight, settling in for a few hours of play as he actually spent the time to bond with his child.

* * *

><p>After that night Esca occasionally began to stay for dinner. Marcus noticed that when the young man did stay, the meals were generally more complex and in larger amounts and Esca occasionally snuck out with leftovers. Marcus also noticed that Esca was slowly becoming an innate presence within the Aquila household, to the point where, by the time that late summer rolled around he was practically part of the family. This was in part because summer break had meant that Esca had much more time to babysit and now spent every weekday afternoon with Rowan, his hours extending from one until six, when Marcus was scheduled to return home. But sometimes Marcus would come home early and sometimes Esca would stay late and Marcus found himself looking forward to those times when their schedules overlapped, if only just for a little time.<p>

He had learned a lot about Esca. The blond was twenty-one and in his senior year of college. He was double majoring in Dance (which had honestly shocked Marcus more than it should have judging by how gracefully Esca always moved) and Psychology and had come to the United States because with the exchange rate as it was tuition was a lot cheaper than it would have been across the pond. This mattered because while Esca had a decent scholarship, he didn't immediately have the funds to pay for everything, hence the baby-sitting gig. Apparently Esca was so good at it because he had taught at Dance and Soccer classes back in Scotland and generally liked children a good deal more than adults.

Marcus had also learned that Esca only full-on laughs at really corny jokes - a startled, scathing noise that was far more than his usual dry chuckle. That Esca's smiles are almost rarer than his laughs. That when he gets wet from running through the sprinklers with Rowan his shirt clings to reveal a lean body toned with years of aerobic training and that as small as he is, he's got the strength to throw Marcus down during a rough three-person game of flag football. That he wasn't much interested in sweets but ate the cake at Rowan's birthday party anyway because he hadn't been able to turn the boy away when offered a plate directly.

Finding himself growing too attentive of Esca - his body, face, and happiness – Marcus tried to talk himself out of it. He tried to scare himself by thinking that he was only falling for Esca because the young man had taken Amanda's role, that it was some sort of Freudian, sick fascination with feminizing the poor kid into filling the place of the missing mother. That argument had lasted only long enough for Marcus to realize that he had been staring at the strong, lean lines of Esca's body in swim trunks one day when they went to the pool, eyes greedily searching not for feminine curves but for strong masculine lines and for any hint as to what was hiding under those trunks. That was the day that Marcus had first dreamed of biting and licking his way down Esca's body and the day that he realized that while he wasn't gay, Esca seemed to be an exception. The dream had certainly been more appreciated than flashbacks of his service days in the war, but he had woken up from it with just as much anxiety.

After that it was all a matter of toning himself down, trying to force his body to realize that Esca was not a potential lover but his employee, the man who he paid to watch over his son. Esca, for all that he seemed to be enjoying them, was getting money for keeping them company and probably would not want to be around Marcus otherwise. After all, Marcus was thirteen years older than him, recently divorced, and apparently hitting a very strange mid-life crisis. He was also boring, overly serious, and had a terribly mangled leg, which certainly would turn off anyone who looked at it.

Marcus tried not to mope, tried to look happy as he tried to bury his growing affections. He focused instead on his job and on Rowan, both of which were now infinitely easier to deal with now that Esca was with them. At work he could finally focus on his duties and Rowan was socializing and behaving so much better now that he had a stable, dependable home life. Even when Marcus received those off-hour late phone calls from the precinct dragging him back in for an emergency, he could now call Esca over to watch Rowan, which helped both Aquilas' nerves so much. Marcus had to pay Esca more for those day-off calls (as dictated by Calleva Sitters) but it was worth it to know that Rowan didn't have to be home alone while Marcus helped to sort things out at the station.

It was a break from the ordinary then, when Marcus returned one day to see that Esca's car was not parked in front of his house as it was every other. Marcus knew that Esca _had_ picked Rowan up from day care at one because the younger man had sent him a ridiculously traditional text announcement. Esca maybe could have taken Rowan out for chores but it was strange timing since they always had dinner right when Marcus got home, either eating whatever Esca had cooked, throwing something together as fast as possible, or going out to a restaurant. The lights were on though despite the missing car, but that could just mean that Esca had flipped them on in anticipation of returning late when he had gone out with Rowan.

Slightly concerned at the lack of car but trying not to show it in case it was just his cop paranoia, Marcus let himself into his house. He was shocked to hear signs of life when he pushed open the door, namely Esca's voice, lifted to a near screech of irritation.

Brows furrowing, Marcus hurried further into the house, relieved when he saw that Esca's anger was not directed at his son. Instead, Rowan was sitting uncertainly on the couch. Cartoons were on the television but the six-year-old's attention was locked wide-eyed on Esca in the kitchen who was all but yelling into his cellphone.

Esca was perched on one of the bar stools around the kitchen's island, curled over the counter, one hand throttling the phone and the other clutching a knife hovering over a half-chopped tomato. It looked like he had been in the middle of making dinner when the phone had rang. The blonde's accent was more audible than usual as his volume increased. "What do you mean you can't fix it? Your tow truck pulls up two bloody hours after I call and I don't hear from you for five hours only to get a call that it can't be fixed? You-you-" his normally pale face had turned red but he had stumbled over his words, fierce gaze flashing up to meet Rowan's than Marcus.

Seeing that the young man looked ready to explode, Marcus caught his son's attention then pointed toward the stairs. Rowan didn't need to be told twice, his apprehension over the situation clear on his face. Apparently he had been waiting for something to break the tension because he practically sprinted up to his room. As soon as the sound of his door closing echoed down to the kitchen, Esca blew up into the phone. "You bloody fucking bastard, don't give me that crap, it was a simple fucking blown spark plug. The engine itself is fine, there's no bloody reason to keep it that long!" There was a long pause as the person on the other end of the line undoubtedly tried to defend themselves but Esca responded in full fury. "Well that's your own fucking fault, isn't it? You charge me for any more than the spark plug and I'll sue your fucking ass for everything you're worth!" He slammed the cellphone down onto the marble counter then blew out a long sigh then ran his hands down his face, muttering, "Fuck my life."

Marcus found himself smiling sympathetically at the pitiful image in front of him – sympathetic because he felt bad for whatever had happened but smiling because even when snapping out profanities Esca had been beautiful. "Bad day?"

Huffing out a laugh, Esca let his hands drop from his face and cast Marcus a sideways glance. "Yeah, you could say that." Esca glared at the countertop, long, thin fingers pressing hard against its cool surface. "My bloody car broke down right when we pulled into your street. I called to have it towed but it looks like there was some sort of accident in the shop and now they've got to keep it at least overnight. I don't know how I'm getting back to my flat tonight."

It was potentially a very bad idea, but Marcus had to offer, Esca just looked too pitiful, "You could always stay here for the night." The way that Esca reared up in surprise would have almost been comical if his expression hadn't been quite so wary. "Stay as a guest, it's the least I can offer after what you've done for Rowan and me. The extra bedrooms have kind have been turned into a playroom and office. Erm, the office has a day bed but we've also got a decently comfortable couch." Screaming in the back of his mind was a voice saying that there was no way that Esca would accept, that the last thing a college-age kid would want to do was to spend _more_ time with a little kid he had already watched all day and his awkward father.

Marcus was surprised then, when Esca nodded hesitantly, his blue-grey eyes still wary but considering. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Esca's ears reddened a little. "That would be terrific, thanks."

"Okay, that's settled then. I'll go bring Rowan back down and then help you out with dinner." Marcus had to get out of there before the grin he could feel threateningly close to the surface could show. Esca was spending the night! Which should not have turned him into such a teenage girl because nothing was going to happen because Esca had never shown _any_ signs of interest whatsoever but Marcus' hands were still slightly trembling in anticipation as he knocked on Rowan's door. Hearing a small call to come inside, Marcus pushed the door open, smiling softly when he saw his son curled up on his Batman bedspread with his stuffed teddy clutched in his arms. He had definitely been rattled by Esca's mood and it was time for damage control. "Hey there, buddy."

Rowan looked up at him wide-eyed through his long wavy brown fringe – he was going to need a haircut soon. "Daddy, is Esca okay?"

With a nod, Marcus scooped his boy up into his arms then plopped down onto the bed. He chuckled as Rowan burrowed against his chest, skinny limbs twisting around until he got comfortable, little fingers immediately reaching under the collar of his shirt to pull out and play with the dog tags he still wore every day. "Esca's alright. He was just mad that his car broke down. Did he scare you?"

Rowan's lips pursed in a contemplative pout before he shook his head, "No, 'cause he wasn't mad at me. He was still nice to me, even when he was mad at the guys for taking so long to come get his car."

Marcus hummed at the answer then after a moment of silence asked tentatively, "Rowan, what do you think of Esca? Do you like him?"

The boy immediately perked up in his arms and grinned. "Yeah, it's really fun when he's here! And I like going home early from day care, he always does cooler stuff with me. Why, don't you like him?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I like him too." Marcus cleared his throat as he felt himself blush, "I, uh, I really like him."

"Like Mom?" Marcus' focus snapped back down to his son to see that Rowan was staring up at him, his six-year-old gaze somehow seeing straight into his deepest thoughts. The boy's fingers were clenched tight around his dog tags, betraying his sudden intense focus. "Do you like him like Mom, Dad?"

Marcus' throat felt thick and dry but he managed a hoarse, "Yeah, I do." He livened up a little when he realized what that admission might lead to, "But you can't tell Esca, okay? I don't want him to feel bad if he doesn't like me back."

Smiling like he knew he had been right all along, Rowan shook his head. "I won't tell, promise."

"Thanks. But guess what, I've got good news. Esca's staying the night tonight."

The excitement was instantaneous –Rowan dropped the dog tags, surged up and threw his arms around his father's neck. "Really! I wanna watch a movie together after dinner, can we? He told me he's _never_ seen the Justice League movie before so we _have_ to watch it, okay?"

"We'll see. Let's just go down and help finish dinner first."

Dinner had been a simple meal of spaghetti, though Esca had put in the extra effort and had whipped up the sauce by hand. Marcus made sure to compliment him on it after his first bite. After eating Rowan had, unsurprisingly, talked the two men into watching his animated movie so they all piled onto the couch. Rowan plopped himself directly between the two adults, which Marcus couldn't decide if he was happy about or not. In the end, it was probably a good thing since Marcus found himself getting drowsier as the movie progressed.

He usually was able to stay up fairly late but recently the police station had been swamped with a particularly nasty series of businesses being robbed, which they were beginning to think could be attributed to one single person. The targets had varied dramatically but it had all ended the same frustrating way with the criminal leaving no trace of himself behind for evidence. Marcus and the rest of his fellow officers knew that the media was about to attack them for information so everyone had been pitching in some extra energy to work through the case. Marcus had been running around between the station and crime scenes for the past few days from the time he arrived until 6:30 when he forced himself to drop what he was doing so that he would be able to dinner.

The exhaustion, then, wasn't much of a surprise but he still started when someone nudged his shoulder and Marcus snapped his eyes open to realize that the end credits of the movie were rolling up the screen – he had slept through the entire thing. Seeing Esca standing over him, Marcus shook his head to clear it. Dozing while watching the movie had been a bad idea because his dreams had been a strange blend of children's animation, his current work, and flashbacks from the war which were dredged up every damn time he fell asleep listening to anything action or military based. "What time is it?"

"9:30. Rowan's in his room getting changed."

"Sorry. I can distinctly remember telling you that you didn't have to work tonight."

"Don't worry about it. Go tuck Rowan in then get to sleep yourself, you look like you need it more than you need to be up keeping me entertained."

"I can't just leave you down here by yourself that early."

"You can and you will. It wouldn't be that fun for me either, watching you fall asleep as we try to have a conversation."

"But you're a guest."

"Who already knows where most everything is, Marcus. Relax."

In the end, Marcus had been able to stay awake until 10:30, the additional hour giving him enough time to read a short book to Rowan and put him to bed, check on Esca one last time, and then stumble into the master suite to wash up and crash on the bed. He had literally fallen asleep as soon as he had gotten horizontal on his mattress and when he woke up the next morning to his cell phone alarm at five-thirty he still felt tired, not to mention irritated for having lost such a good opportunity of having any sort of one-on-one time with Esca.

Nevertheless, Marcus forced his body through the motions of taking a shower, throwing something on so that he wasn't naked, and then stumbling downstairs to start up the coffee machine. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, he had to take a moment to appreciate the view. Esca was curled up on the couch in the family room in front of the TV. He had scrounged up a pillow and blanket from somewhere and had during the night managed to tangle himself up in the blanket, feet sticking out from the bottom and one arm hanging loosely over the side of the couch and almost touching the ground. He was a restless sleeper then.

But he looked so different asleep, without his hipster scene accessories his relaxed and unguarded face finally made him look his age, parted thin lips releasing quiet little snores that Marcus desperately wanted to feel against his skin. Then Marcus blinked and realized that he had been staring at the young man for far too long to be _not_ creepy and all but threw himself back into the adjoining kitchen. Maybe a cup of coffee would distract him. Probably only if he poured it scalding hot directly onto his head. Chagrined, Marcus turned the machine on, hoping it wouldn't wake Esca up as he quietly turned to the fridge to look for something to make them for breakfast.

"Jesus, you're up early…"

Marcus snapped to attention at the tired voice, twisting around to see Esca propping himself up on the back of the couch, watching him with sleepy, hooded eyes that sent a spike of something instinctual down to Marcus' gut. When he noticed that Esca's unfocused gaze suddenly sharped on something below his face, Marcus looked down then winced. He had been half-assed about getting dressed after the shower and had only bothered to put on pants. _A sorry attempt to show off middle-aged muscles, Aquila_. _Showing off the dog tags like you did right after being discharged, looking for a date. "Look at me, I'm a soldier?"_ _You knew it wouldn't work_, a little voice muttered in his head.

Swallowing down his sudden unease, Marcus forced a smile, "Hey, good morning. Sorry, but work starts at eight sharp. With the drive time and getting Rowan up, I, uh, have to get up pretty early."

To hide his reddening cheeks, Marcus turned back to the fridge, pulling out ingredients for pancakes – he was good at making those – as he listened too-closely to the sounds of Esca shuffling around. He could feel every muscle in his body tense when Esca's footsteps moved from hardwood to tile as he came into the kitchen. Trying to play it off like he didn't know Esca was standing right behind him, Marcus reached up into the cupboards for a mixing bowl, desperately hoping that Esca would say something.

"Did you quit the military because of Rowan?"

Thank fucking God. Relieved that the tension had been broken, Marcus readily answered Esca's question with a weak chuckle, "No. Rowan came around after the career change."

Esca was leaning on the counter and when Marcus glanced over he saw the other's gaze intent and curious. "Did you just get tired of it?"

"No, I was in for the long run. I had gotten promoted to Major by the time I was discharged." Realizing what question was bound to come next, even if Esca didn't ask it, "Rocket blast. It was a surprise attack on our base and I was trying to play the hero and swerved my jeep in front of it to save my crew as soon as I saw it coming. It was a stupid thing to do. The car went up, flipped, ripped me up and nearly tore my leg off. So I was sent home."

"Do you regret it?"

"Being sent home?" Esca nodded and seeing his serious expression, Marcus gave the question some honest thought. No one had really asked him that before but, "Yeah. Honestly, that was the worst moment of my life, being honorably discharged. But do I regret meeting Amanda, having Rowan, and becoming a police officer? No. It's had its bad moments, but I don't regret a thing."

When he heard Esca huff a little, Marcus looked over again to see the young man shaking his head, a rueful smile on his thin lips. "You're a fucking bastard, you know that?"

That wasn't what Marcus had been expecting. How did Esca get "bastard" from what he had just heard? Marcus managed a stuttered "W-What?" as he desperately tried to go over everything that he had just said.

Across from him, Esca was turning red and ran an agitated hand through his blond spikes already ruffled from sleep. He was muttering more to himself but Marcus could still pick out, "You're not playing fair…it's not fair."

"Esca?"

Esca clenched his eyes shut and then spat out a curse. When he opened his eyes the grey-blue orbs were desperate. "Fuck, Marcus, haven't you noticed?"

Marcus just blinked, uncertain where this was going. The response seemed to drain Esca of whatever little patience he had left and with a pained growl, the younger man grabbed his dog tags and dragged him down to press a kiss to his lips. It was quick but it was fierce and sweet and desperate and a second later Esca was pushing him away, red up to his ears. "Shit, Marcus, I, I didn't-"

Needing to diffuse the situation, Marcus wrapped his arms around Esca and pulled him close. Esca felt so small in his grasp but there was strength in those wiry limbs and his head tucked so perfectly underneath Marcus' chin. "Esca, shh." Esca silenced but his warm, damp breath hit Marcus' collarbone in quick little bursts and Marcus could feel his rapidly pounding heartbeat almost as well as he could feel his own. Pressed together, Marcus waited until both of them had calmed down before he took hold of Esca's shoulders and drew him away.

Esca looked positively miserable. "I'm sorry, I never meant to fucking snap like that. I'd understand if you wanted to switch sitters but-"

"Esca, no. I like you too." The small, shy kiss Marcus placed on his lips shut Esca up, the blonde's eyes flashing up to meet his with matching disbelief. "I just didn't think, didn't know that you felt the same way?" It came out as a question because really, Marcus _needed_ to know if Esca actually felt the same.

At this, the younger man laughed in his sharp, startled fashion, "You're really blind. Calleva Sitters only allows a maximum twenty hours of work per week."

Marcus quickly thought back. As soon as Esca's college had gotten out for summer break, Esca had offered his services full-time. In fact this summer, Esca was over at the Aquila house more than he was anywhere else.

"And it's not because I wanted your money or anything. Rowan's a terrific kid and, I…I wanted to become part of your life, you know? To the point where you couldn't live without me…or something like that…"

That explained all of the hand-made dinners, answering all of Marcus's late-night emergency calls when the larger man was called unexpectedly into the station, all of the group trips out to the pool or parks and making sure that Rowan had done his homework. The domesticity of it all. "It worked."

"Yeah?"

Marcus smiled, about to lean down for another kiss when the coffee machine beeped, shattering the bubble that had built around the two of them. Suddenly it was morning again and Rowan was sure to be getting up and pancakes still had to be made. Not to mention work in an hour and a half. Squeezing Esca's arms, amazed that he was touching that pale, soft skin, Marcus murmured, "I would love if we could continue this later."

"Maybe a date?"

"Uh, yeah. I'd like that." Marcus couldn't believe that this was happening, that Esca actually even somewhat returned his feelings. But a date, that, that was something that he hadn't done in a long time. He couldn't really imagine himself enjoying an intimate dinner with Esca, just the two of them. When they were with Rowan, it was an easy, fun family night. But alone, it would suddenly be just Marcus and this beautiful twenty-one-year-old.

But that was something to think about later – right now Marcus needed to focus on getting breakfast ready.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Arianrhod34 and Les Folles Rieuses for your reviews! I really do appreciate the feedback! Now on with the story (things are heating up in this chapter!)

O

o

* * *

><p>As it turned out, even with their newly revealed interest in each other, finding a time for a date was difficult. They had, after all, come together in the first place because Marcus' job was so busy and because Rowan needed more attention – it was proving somewhat difficult for Marcus to explain that Rowan needed another babysitter so that Marcus could go on a date with the current one. Added to their busy schedule was the fact that it was now August and school had started up again, both for Esca and for Rowan. Marcus had actually taken the day off (though he had brought some paperwork home) to take his son to his first day of kindergarten. Rowan had been cautiously optimistic and both father and son were delighted when Marcus had picked him up at one to find that the first day had been very much enjoyable. Esca's new schedule had, however, thrown a wrench in their nightly plans because he now had night classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which meant that Rowan was back in day care for longer periods and that Esca and Marcus had fewer opportunities to meet up.<p>

Marcus swore that it really was the situation and not his own insecurities that was keeping them from finding a good night to go out. Just because it had been two weeks since that morning's confession didn't mean anything, only that they were both very busy people trying to juggle school, a job, and a child.

At the moment, Marcus had found temporary stress relief because his uncle had taken Rowan to his villa for the weekend, picking him up from school this afternoon with plans to drop him off at school again Monday morning. It would be good for all of them – Marcus was using his Friday night to help out at the station, and his son and uncle got some good bonding time (Rowan _loved_ it at his uncle's house because Uncle Aquila spoiled the kid rotten, just like he had spoiled Marcus as a child).

So Marcus was worry-free as he and Guern got into their squad car for a routine cruise around town. The older man was the senior officer and consequently got to drive but that allowed Marcus the chance to scroll through the dashboard computer for the latest activities of the rest of the officers on duty. Seeing that another squad car had just called in a 11-81, an accident with minor injuries, Marcus tapped the screen to call it to Guern's attention then after his nod radioed dispatch with their intent to respond. Dispatch okayed the assistance, not surprising since it was a slow night, and away they went.

They were about seven minutes to the scene when Marcus felt a vibration against his hip followed by his ring tone. It wasn't unheard of for officers to keep their personal phones with them when on the beat – if only to have an emergency means of communication but Marcus still cursed at having forgotten to turn it off. In the driver's seat, Guern only chuckled at the younger's attempt to get at the thing, a few seconds of scrambling and digging through all the cords and pockets attached to his belt passing before Marcus pulled it out.

He was about to silence the damned thing when he noticed the caller ID. It was Esca. There was no real reason for the younger man to be calling him. Rowan was at his uncle's. Still…shooting an apologetic glance to Guern and getting a wave of understanding in return, Marcus accepted the call and brought the phone up to his ear. Immediately the muffled sounds of people laughing and talking came over the speaker, but not Esca's accented lilt. "Esca?"

"_No,_" the voice that responded was definitely not Esca's but instead was that of a woman,_ "This is Haley from Third Street Pub? Your friend is here but he's a little too drunk and is beginning to stir up some trouble. We're kicking him and the other guys out but I wanted to give one of his friends a chance to pick him up before we call the police."_

The irony was not lost on Marcus but his main concern was now for Esca. "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"_Thanks. He seems like a good guy, you know? I don't want him getting into trouble."_

As soon as Haley hung up, Marcus turned to his partner. "I'm sorry, Guern, but can we change destinations? I just got a call about one of my friends getting drunk outside Third Street Pub."

Guern shrugged, twisting the wheel as he changed course. "No problem, Aquila. You want to call it in a 10-68 to dispatch?"

"Probably should." Though it wasn't an official 911 call, they were responding to it on the clock, and Marcus knew that if he should 'probably' do something, then he'd have to do the right thing. "Alright." He took hold of the radio. "Dispatch, this is Unit 9, calling in to request a 10-22."

"_What is the reason for your 10-22?"_

"Just received a 10-68 on the personal phone of Sergeant Aquila calling in a possible drunk and disorderly at Third Street Pub. Request permission to respond."

There was a moment's pause from the dispatch before the woman responded. "_Permission granted._"

It was the sanction Marcus had been waiting for even though Guern had already driven them halfway to the pub. He could breathe easy now that he knew that he didn't have to be sneaking behind the department's back for personal calls but this one was important because Esca was in trouble.

As soon as they turned onto Third Street Marcus caught sight of a cluster of people outside the bar and could hear their raised voices even through the squad car's windows. When he saw a fist swinging inside the tight ring of bodies, Marcus called out, "Stop the car!"

Guern slammed on the brakes a few buildings down from the pub and Marcus all but kicked the passenger door out, hand instinctually going for his taser or gun or any tool on his belt as he sprinted into the rowdy crowd. The bulk of the people were obviously spectators but as Marcus pushed them aside he saw Esca lined up against three bigger guys. A wave of fury washed over him and he lunged forward to grab one of the thug's arms as the man pulled back for a swing, wrenching the guy's arm behind his back as he simultaneously grabbed another attacker and threw him back a good four feet. His voice was booming and commanding, straight from the front lines, "Hey, _break it up_!"

The third man had momentarily frozen at his voice, giving Marcus the time he needed to put himself between them and Esca, completely blocking the smaller man from view. The crowd had scattered as soon as he had shown up but the three guys weren't giving up quite yet, the one he had thrown back pointing drunkenly in Esca's direction. "Hey, that dick started it! He tried to hit on me!"

Marcus started when he felt Esca suddenly surge forward from behind. Marcus had to catch him around the waist so that the smaller man didn't launch himself back into the fray, "Like hell I would, you sick fuck! You hit on me, it's not my fault I actually have bloody standards! And by the way, you hit like a girl!"

"You little shit!"

Before Marcus knew what had happened, the man sprung forward and punched Esca hard across the face. Moving on instinct and training, Marcus responded by drawing Esca back and in one firm motion grabbing the attacker and throwing him to the ground, arm twisted up behind him. The next second, he was unhooking his cuffs from his belt and snarling down at him, his knee digging into the guy's spine. "That's it – you're under arrest for drunk and disorderly behavior and assault!" His green eyes snapped up to the other two accomplices, "You too!"

The two other men looked stunned for a moment but right when the thought to flee entered their eyes, Guern stepped up behind them, grabbing the first and cuffing him, ready with a zip-tie for the second. The older officer had the nerve to look _amused_ as he grabbed onto their arms. "Backup's on the way, Aquila. Get that John into the back of the squad car then take care of the kid. I've got these two."

Adrenaline was still pumping strong in Marcus' veins but he had enough fortitude to follow his partner's orders and throw the perp into the back of his squad car. As Guern rattled off their rights to all three of them, Marcus then managed to get Esca to sit on the curb. Sitting down next to him, Marcus lifted the younger's chin so that he could get a better look at the damage under the glow of the streetlight. What he saw didn't make him happy. A bruise was already forming under Esca's left eye from that last punch and his lip was split on the right side. "They really did a number on you, Esca. What happened?"

Esca had been sullen and quiet up to this point, still obviously a bit drunk and surly but at Marcus' question he jerked his head from Marcus' grip and spat out, "I knew what I was doing. Those bastards needed to be taught a lesson – I was holding my own well enough." After a second's pause, Esca sneered. "Guy just couldn't admit that he was gay. When I called him out on his fucking flirting he ran off then got his mates and jumped me as soon as I was outside."

"You may have been holding you own but it was three against one, Esca. This isn't something to take lightly– people like those guys who start fights because of any sort of homophobia sometimes don't know when to stop. You really could have gotten hurt." Esca swallowed and remained silent but Marcus sensed that he had gotten his point across and squeezed Esca's shoulder. "If you want I'll drive you back to your apartment after this since," he glanced down at his watch then smiled, "my shift officially ended two minutes ago and you're definitely not fit to drive. And not that I want to control what you do, but next time you really should try to watch how much you drink, college kid or not."

As Marcus moved to pull his hand away, Esca latched onto his wrist, the smaller man not looking at him as he muttered. "I don't go drinking that often. I just, I wanted to try and have a good time. Without you. You never called for that date."

"Esca-"

"No. I wanna go home with you, Marcus." Esca's eyes were hooded and dark and he was leaning closer to run his slim fingers down Marcus' chest. "Couldn't forget about you. I wanna kiss you again. I want you to fuck me, Marcus. I've been thinking about what it'd be like since I first saw you."

"Jesus. Okay. Okay, Esca." Voice hoarse, Marcus forcibly pried Esca's arms off of him, removing himself from the seductive little devil before they started anything indecent on the street. With his partner ten feet away already smirking at him and three drunk guys being loaded into their squad car and the additional unit that had just pulled up. That would not be good. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that he was the sober one so he had to have enough restraint for the both of them, Marcus grabbed Esca's hand and gave it a tender squeeze. "Alright, Esca, I'll take you home. But right now you're going to stay here with my partner while I get your phone and probably your keys. Then we can drive back to my place, okay?"

Esca blinked then looked back to Guern and huffed. "I don't wanna stay with him. He's not as sexy as you."

Guern had been within earshot of this and laughed but closed the distance between them and set his hand on Esca's shoulder. "It's alright, Marcus, I'll look after him while you get his stuff, sexy or not. Though I do think my wife would disagree."

"Knowing her, yeah. I'll be right back. Thanks, Guern."

By the time that Marcus had retrieved Esca's things from the flustered barkeep Haley (she had been only mildly upset that Marcus had turned out to be an officer until Marcus assured her that Esca wasn't going to get in trouble) Guern had gotten Esca to point out which car was his, the beaten up old thing hidden around the corner of the establishment, and had Esca leaning against the trunk for support. "You know I'm going to want full details about all of this later, Aquila," he said as Marcus approached.

His voice was teasing but his gaze was serious and Marcus didn't know if Guern was referring to the obvious age difference, their apparent personality differences, or whatever else, but he knew that he did owe his partner an explanation at least. "You'll get them, don't worry."

"Good. In the meantime, your shift is officially over and I've still got a half hour left so me and Johnson," he nodded back to the officer who had responded as back up, "will take these three back and get them booked and thrown in the drunk tank to detox. See you on Monday. You've earned yourself a good weekend."

There was nothing more awkward then your partner knowing too much about your sex life but Marcus decided to let it go because Esca had grabbed onto him and was mouthing at his neck and it was really time to go home _now_ before his brain stopped working.

The drive back home had luckily taken most of Marcus' concentration since Esca's car wasn't the easiest in the world to handle. The spotty steering and slow-to-react brake pedal kept him distracted from Esca who was undressing him with his eyes and reaching over every few minutes to touch. By the time he parked the damn thing in front of his curb, Marcus was tense and riled up and his fingers trembled as he turned off the ignition. Esca couldn't even wait to get inside the house though and at the front porch, grabbed Marcus and jerked him down to seal their mouths together.

Esca tasted like whiskey and beer and a hint of blood from the split lip and it would have been off-putting if it hadn't been _Esca_ biting at his bottom lip and brushing his tongue against the seam of his lips to get inside. Moaning when their tongues finally met, Marcus wrapped an arm around Esca's slim waist, pulling him flush against his body. Marcus could have kissed Esca all night but a rub of the younger's hips against his leg reminded him that getting inside was going to lead to much better things and was at the moment top priority.

Breaking their kiss long enough to fish out his keys from his back pocket, Marcus struggled with the lock as Esca latched onto his neck, licking and biting roughly enough that Marcus knew it would leave marks but couldn't really find it in himself to care because the door was open and they tumbled into his house.

Clothes were pulled off and thrown to the ground as Marcus maneuvered them both back to the family room couch. Going upstairs seemed like an impossible task when Esca seemed unwilling to unplaster himself from Marcus' body. In fact, Marcus' arm around his waist was probably the only thing holding the kid up.

That thought brought a small frown to Marcus' lips and he pulled away from Esca's nips to really look down at the young man in his arms. Esca was panting, lips red and wet and grey-blue eyes nearly black with lust. As another second passed without kissing, the blonde released a little groan of frustration. "Marcus…"

Marcus swallowed. "Esca, if we're going to do this, it can't be while you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk." When Marcus' frown just deepened, Esca threw his arms around Marcus' neck, arching his chest to press against the larger man's. "I've been drinking since I was sixteen, I know how it'd feel. I promise I'm not drunk now. The fight burned most of it off. Please, I know how I feel. Fuck, Marcus, I need you!"

The desperation in his voice made Marcus run soothing hands down the younger's sides, reveling in the lean muscle his hands found there as Esca trembled underneath him. "Alright, I believe you." Thinking a little more clearly now, but by no means wanting to stop, Marcus smiled, "Let's get you a glass of water anyway and once you drink that we can head upstairs." His voice lowered as the heat began to gather back in his gut, and he leaned down to nip at the bit of skin just behind Esca's ear. "I want to see you naked and stretched out on my sheets."

"Fucking hell, Marcus. Get me that bloody water now."

Three minutes later they were upstairs, mouths locked together again as they stumbled into the master bedroom. Marcus' hands swept up Esca's tight shirt, running his hands along the smooth skin there as Esca fumbled with the buttons on his uniform. As soon as Marcus' dog tags were revealed, Esca groaned low and wrapped one hand around the chain and tags, tugging on it to draw Marcus back into a heated kiss. A few seconds later though, he refocused on his initial intent: getting Marcus naked.

Pressing a kiss to his collarbone as Esca pried Marcus' shirt open, the younger man hummed happily as Marcus grabbed onto his hips. "Love your hands, Marcus." Marcus tried to grin but the expression was wiped from his face and replaced by a long drawn-out moan as Esca palmed his crotch, "I'm guessing this matches them in size?"

"Only one way to find out, right?"

Esca did manage a sly smirk at this and pushed Marcus down onto the bed, honing in on getting his belt off followed by his pants, throwing them both to the floor as his slid his own tight jeans and shirt off as well. Marcus watched, enraptured, as the younger man crawled on top of him, the smooth, pale lines of his muscles stretching highlighted by the moonlight shining through the back window. He looked every bit a dancer and make Marcus desperate to know what sort of positions he could get into. And fuck but those the dark blue Celtic lines running both up his arm and down his back were begging to be touched. "Esca."

Their lips met again as hands worked to lose the last few articles of clothing that remained. Once they were both naked, Esca began to trail his kisses lower, moving from Marcus' chin to his collarbone to his chest. Marcus sucked in a shuddering breath as the other's hands traced up and down his chest and abdomen, Esca taking his time on his torso. "You, you only like me for my muscles."

"Hm," Esca chuckled, nipping at his stomach and making Marcus jolt, "They're damn sexy but only one of the reasons why I like you."

Esca moved down to Marcus' hipbone, purposefully avoiding his straining erection and smiling as the detour made Marcus moan in distress. He wasn't, however, expecting Marcus to grab him and stop him right as he tried to go lower, as was evidenced by the way his eyes widened, suddenly wary again. "Marcus?"

"Don't, don't do that. Come back up here." The last thing Marcus wanted was for Esca to see his scar – he wanted the sex to continue, thank you very much.

But it was too late, Esca had looked down. Crap, there went the mood. It had taken Amanda a month of getting used the scar, seeing him in his boxers, going swimming, before she had been able to even glance at it during sex. Closing his eyes, Marcus laid his head back against the pillow. Maybe they could still sleep in the same bed- "Shit!" The curse burst from Marcus' mouth and his eyes snapped back open when he felt lips seal over the scar tissue on his thigh and he looked down in shock in time to see Esca pressing kisses down the long jagged lines. The muscles underneath spasmed from the sudden tension that shot through Marcus' body but Esca soothed the twitching with firm presses of his fingers. Marcus struggled to speak, "E-Esca, you don't, you don't have to."

With a rebuking glare, Esca shook his head. "I want to. It's a sign of how brave you are. It's a part of you."

"But Amanda didn't-"

"I'm not your ex, Marcus. I think it's fucking hot. Now shut up and let me finish."

Chuckling weakly, Marcus nonetheless dutifully laid back down. "You're so bossy."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all."

o

O

* * *

><p>The next morning, Marcus woke to the sun in his face and a warm body draped over his. Feeling lazy and happy, he lifted his hand to run it down Esca's spine, chuckling in a gravel-rough tone as Esca arched into the touch like a contented cat, groaning deep in his throat. The younger's voice was sleep-addled as he buried his nose into Marcus' collarbone. "Christ, you did a number on me."<p>

"Are you okay?" Looking at Esca in the morning light, he did have a good number of bruises and marks, including but not limited to finger-shaped bruises from where Marcus had gripped his hips a little too hard. These were just added to the bruises and cuts he had received earlier from his scuffle at the pub.

"More than, feels fantastic. Besides, I returned tit for tat well enough."

Marcus' brow furrowed in confusion until he shifted and a spike of achiness shivered across his shoulders. That's right – last night Esca had nearly dug furrows into his back, grasping at his skin for anything to hold on to. As Esca rolled off of him and onto his side, Marcus also noted that he had a good collection of hickeys across his chest and undoubtedly up his neck as well.

Esca smirked at Marcus' wince then took hold of the older man's scruffy chin and drew him in for a quick kiss. When he pulled away his eyes were dancing in amusement. "You're not my normal sort of date."

Marcus tilted his head to the side and smiled wryly. "What, you don't normally date the old guy paying your bills?"

Snorting, Esca punched his shoulder. "That's not what I meant. I meant that I usually don't date the good guys."

"What do you mean?"

"Marcus, you could be the poster boy for Boy Scouts with all that honorable shit. You're one cape away from being bloody Superman. It would be disgusting if you weren't so fucking adorable."

"I'm not that fantastic." Marcus paused for a second then asked, "What kind of guys do you usually date?"

"We've got to teach you how to take a compliment. But," Esca shifted, gaze breaking from Marcus', "as for the guys I usually date…they're usually a little…edgier. You know, the bad boy, tattoos and smoking- all that shit."

"Hm."

"What?"

Marcus shook his head. "That's just not what I expected. You always seemed like such a good kid around Rowan. Of course with the way you were cursing last night…"

Rolling his eyes, Esca shifted his weight, turning over so that they were eye to eye. "I dress up for work – most of my clients are middle-aged women so I have to watch my image. It's company policy. And of course I watch my mouth when I'm around kids. I don't want them parroting anything nasty to their parents after I leave."

Marcus tried to imagine Esca as anything different than how he had met him – maybe smoking, skulking in back alleys, looking like a collage of all the guys Marcus had to deal with on a daily basis. The image was probably more attractive than it should have been and he leaned their foreheads together. "So you're secretly not the upstanding young man I initially took you for. Anything else you want to admit to while you're confessing your crimes?"

With a huff, Esca bumped their noses together. "You better watch out what you say or I'll be getting a cop kink soon enough, which would be a tragic irony considering everything I've done in my life."

"And that would be?"

Now Esca was looking a little uncomfortable but Marcus was pleased when the younger man continued. "I guess I'd as well tell you now before you found out another way." Pulling away, Esca flopped onto his back, tone going for nonchalant despite the way his body had tensed. "I may have been a bit of a delinquent back home, before I shipped myself over here for university. I mean, nothing awful, just stupid kid's stuff, but let's just say that the local officers knew me and my gang well enough. Authority just didn't sit right with me – absent father and all that. I wasn't some druggie though, I got good marks in school, so I wasn't stupid either."

"I know you're not." Marcus soothed the blonde, "I know kids like that here in Calleva and they're not stupid either. They just want to control something, to be proactive in their lives, but have too much pent up anger to do it right. But they're not stupid. Maybe one day they'll even be able to sort out their lives like you did."

With a snort, Esca met Marcus' gaze again. "You really are horrifically perfect, you know that, right?" After a second's pause, "I've never been involved with someone as good as you. It's kind of scary actually."

"Scary?" Marcus propped himself up onto his elbows, looking down at Esca incredulously. "_You're _scared?"

"Well if you're going to be a prick about it…"

Relief flooded through Marcus' body and he smiled, pushing his fingers through Esca's wild hair, "Esca, you have no idea how _terrified_ I am. I've lied awake at night trying to figure out ways to flirt with you that wouldn't make me look pathetic."

"That makes us both incredibly sad bastards then." Despite his words, Esca was grinning wolfishly. "I guess we'll be needing to make up for lost time though."

O

o


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to those people who've reviewed: Arianrhod34, cassiels-song, and A-chan (thanks for following me to this fandom ^^). This is the last chapter in this little saga, and I'm glad that you all have been enjoying yourselves. And now without further ado, on with the show! ;)

O

o

* * *

><p>Needless to say, Marcus was not able to leave the house or get much done that weekend, not that he was complaining. Esca, it seemed, was also perfectly content to lounge at his house, claiming that his own apartment was "a shitty flat in a shittier neighborhood," and that he wasn't exactly eager to go back now that he had Marcus right where he wanted him. Namely, in bed naked. And while Marcus was somewhat abashed to find that his stamina couldn't quite match twenty-one-year-old Esca's, he found the time between rounds of sex riveting as he and Esca talked and got to know each other better. Esca was an amazing kid and Marcus was only more stunned and thankful that he had been able to capture the younger man's interest. In fact, the only time they left the house was really when they drove to the police station to retrieve Marcus' car which he hadn't been able to pick up due to the drunk fighting incident and all that followed. Not that Marcus was complaining. They picked up the car, stopped by a supermarket for something for dinner, then went home only to make out on the couch until their rumbling stomachs forced them to eat a full half hour later.<p>

It was almost a shock, then, when the weekend ended and his alarm sounded off Monday morning. Esca had showered then jumped in his car to go to school and Marcus had pulled on his – washed – uniform for another day at work. On his way to the station, he had received a call from his uncle saying that he had dropped Rowan off at school and that they had had a great time together.

"_I hope that you found some time to relax as well, Marcus_?" Uncle had asked, tone only betraying a touch of concern for his notoriously overworked nephew.

"You know, I actually did."

"_Oh? Who is she?_"

Marcus had almost swerved off the road then stammered off some excuse and had ended the call. Uncle Aquila had always been too perceptive and Marcus hadn't known if he was up for explaining his new relationship twice in one day since he was bound to come under Guern's questioning.

As it turned out, however, Guern had been merciful and had allowed Marcus to stick to a five minute explanation without any further digging. Which turned out to be for the better since worked had piled up over the weekend – reports and warrants to follow up on and, of course, paperwork to fill out, including writing up an incident report about Friday night.

After that, the day continued on as normal. At one, Marcus received a text from Esca saying that he had picked Rowan up from school. He got off at seven to find dinner waiting and an armful of excited six-year-old eager to tell him all about the weekend he had had. Nothing had changed except for now he and Esca were touching more, purposefully letting their hands brush together, holding each other's gazes longer. When it was time for Esca to leave they had even exchanged a quick kiss at the front door before the younger had darted out into the chilling September evening toward his car.

As the days turned to weeks, their relationship slowly began to evolve and become more intimate. Esca began to spend the night; occasionally at first, then every few days, then every other day. Marcus had watched Esca's personal items slowly accumulate in the master suite, both in the bathroom and bedroom. It had started with a spare toothbrush and change of clothes but by the middle of October most of Esca's meager amount of belongings was stored at the Aquila household. Finally they came to the conclusion that it wasn't logical that Esca was paying for rent still when he was predominantly living at Marcus' and the following day Esca gave his two weeks' notice to end his lease.

That was also the day when Esca officially quit working for Calleva Sitters and began to search for another part time job. Rowan had smiled from ear to ear when they had told him that Esca was now living with them. The way that he had yelled "Good job!" as he flung his arms around Marcus' neck had been a little embarrassing, but that day was one of the happiest in Marcus' life.

By the time Halloween rolled around, Marcus had never been happier and his life had never been so domestic. Sure, it wasn't perfect. Esca had an explosive personality, passionate in everything. Rowan wasn't always a perfect angel and even with two stable adults to look after him he fought and screamed and threw tantrums as much as any other six-year-old trying to test his boundaries. Even Marcus knew that after a particularly tough day at work he could come home introverted and surly. But living with each other, good moods or not, was what family was about and in the end, Marcus couldn't imagine anything better than waking up tangled with Esca every morning.

Right now, Marcus grinned as he held up his camera, "You two are great. Here, get closer together, I want to get everything in the shot."

"You're liking this too much, Marcus."

"Don't be grumpy, Esca. Cheese!" Rowan grabbed onto Esca's arm, grinning wide as they stood side-by-side in matching 1920s mobster suits. The sun had just set and Esca had volunteered to take Rowan out for trick-or-treating, embarrassed as he was by the child's insistence for matching costumes. Marcus would have loved to go with them, but it was Halloween and that meant only one thing to a cop –a late and potentially rough night.

After snapping a few pictures, Marcus lowered the camera and stooped down to pull Rowan into a hug. "Have fun, you two. Save some candy for me, alright?" Rowan nodded enthusiastically and Marcus kissed his forehead before standing and drawing Esca close. "Thanks for taking him out."

"It's nothing." Esca bit his lip then looked up at him from underneath his fedora. "You be careful, yeah?"

"Of course." Marcus pecked Esca's cheek before he winked at Rowan, "After all, you gangsters are going to be the last two arrests of the night."

"Nah-uh, Esca and I'll fight back!"

Esca shrugged then nodded, eyes glinting with amusement and a hint of lust, "It's true. You may need those handcuffs of yours if you want the upper hand."

Huffing, Marcus shook his head, trying to smother his libido with his son in the same room. "I'll have to think of a good plan, then. But seriously, have fun and don't worry if I'm out late, it's to be expected. And Rowan, don't eat too much candy – it'll only be going to waste if you get sick on it. I'll call you when I get off the clock. Take pictures."

With that said he was off to the station, but only long enough to meet up with Guern and get into their squad car. Demand for officers on Halloween was so great that the Chief had given every unit a neighborhood to take care of. The map had been posted in the station's meeting room for the last week, slowly getting tweaked until everyone had a job to do. No one was getting the day off tonight.

The radio illustrated as much. Every few seconds it was going off with calls from other units responding to misdemeanors and drunks out on the streets. That was what Halloween always was – a lot of little things that turned into a big job for law enforcement. Marcus scanned the computer for any in-coming call from their assigned neighborhood as Guern rolled down the street at a nice even pace. They had been lucky to have been assigned to an upper-middle class area, vaguely like Marcus' own neighborhood. Groups of parents and kids were out and about but it was otherwise very tame where they were. Letting his eyes follow a group of kids as they moved from house to house, Marcus leaned back in his seat. "So Maggie's taking the kids out right now?"

Guern shook his head absently at the mention of his wife, attention also on the kids. "Nope. My oldest, Andy, just turned fourteen. We figured that was old enough to take his brother and sisters out on his own. We're treating it as an experiment but I can't tell if Maggie's more worried about their safety or happy that she gets to keep the lights on at our house for other kids."

"Did she set them up with safety lighting?"

Guern chuckled quietly. "They're like their own little miniature suns. I had to pull a minor intervention when she pulled out the fourth round of glow sticks." The older man glanced at his watch then sighed. "Actually, they should be getting back home right about now."

Marcus hummed in acknowledgement, letting the conversation fall into companionable silence. A minute later Guern eased the car back into motion, leaving the group they had been watching in the review mirror as they made another pass through all the blocks on their route.

Just as they were passing by the neighborhood church for the third time in one hour, the voice of dispatch crackled over the busy radio. "_Unit 9 be advised, a residential alarm was just tripped in your area. Address number 476 River Road._"

Marcus snatched up the transmitter, "10-4, we're on our way." Lifting his finger from the button, Marcus asked, "You know where that is?"

"I remember passing River Road some four minutes back. Hang on, I'll pull us around."

As usual, Guern's unfailing sense of direction landed them on River Road four minutes later. 476 was right at the end of the street, a large two-storied Colonial-style house with a box shrub lined front yard. It was an obvious target because it was also backed up against the forest behind the neighborhood. The trees would make a get-away that much easier, which probably explained why the owners had bothered to install an alarm inside their home. Taking an extra second to ensure that his gun was loaded with the safety on, Marcus stepped out of the car, Guern less than a second behind him.

The house was dark but that wasn't an immediate indicator of anything good or bad. Frowning, Marcus reached for his flashlight and turned to Guern, signaling for a walk around the perimeter. Guern nodded and they went in opposite directions toward the back of the house. As he walked around his side of the building, Marcus heard a noise and tensed. It sounded like a window opening. His eyes snapped toward the source of the sound just in time to see a hooded figure sliding out of a window not more than ten feet away, a bag slung over his shoulder. "Hey! CPD!"

The hooded man whipped around to face him and Marcus just saw a flash of wide eyes before the thief turned and bolted for the fence that separated him from the forest. Marcus tore after him, yelling for Guern. The man vaulted the six-foot-fence with ease, buying him a few precious seconds as Marcus gracelessly scaled it after him. The old would in his thigh flared up as Marcus stretched the weakened muscles past their capability when he hiked it over the fencing but he pushed the pain to the back of his mind and hit the ground on the other side sprinting.

The thief had already made it to the tree line but Marcus didn't let that deter him and followed the criminal into the woods, radioing in the man's description as he did. Although his leg was screaming at him, the man in front of him was carrying a large bag of _something_, and Marcus knew that it had to be feeling heavier and heavier at the speeds they were moving. So Marcus pushed forward, ignoring his straining muscles, the branches and bushes scratching at his uniform, arms, and face as he navigated his way through the trees.

His eyes widened when he saw the thief breaking through to a sudden clearing up ahead. It was a service road just visible up a steep slope, a getaway car parked on the edge of the shoulder waiting to go. Panting harsh breaths of air, Marcus increased his pace and grabbed for the radio clipped to his shoulder. "Suspect approaching vehicle on service road behind residence! Honda Civic, white." If the suspect got the car started before Marcus could get to him but no, the man was having difficulties getting the door open!

Marcus was scrambling up the incline, ten feet from the car, reaching for his taser when the passenger door opened. It was only because of his time on the front lines that he spotted the gun in the man's hand and threw his momentum backward, dropping to the ground but not quickly enough. Marcus felt one bullet slam into his vest, knocking the air from his lungs, another clip his left shoulder and the last hit him square in the gut.

It was that last one that sent knifes of pain cutting through his body but Marcus knew the motions of combat by instinct and in the next second he was returning fire. His shots shattered the window and Marcus was grimly pleased to hear a cry of pain but the first thief had by now started the car and was driving away.

Their escape left a vacuum of silence in its wake and suddenly Marcus could hear nothing but the ringing in his ears and his own haggard breathing as he started to drag himself up toward the road. Halfway up he had to stop to breathe but he used the time to call for help. "Dispatch, this is Sergeant Aquila. 10-53, I've been shot." Coughing, he pulled his mouth away from the radio, grimacing when he saw a few spots of blood in the grass beneath his lips. "Request immediate assistance!"

"-_geant Aquila, what is your location? Please respond!_"

Marcus blinked, realizing he must have blacked out for a second. Worried that his body might be going into shock, Marcus forced himself to grab at the radio again, moving his other hand to press over the wound to his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding as best he could. "Service road in the woods about a mile from River Road. Two suspects, male, in a white Honda Civic. Driver wearing a grey hoody. Passenger was armed." Marcus had to close his eyes as his vision began to dance in front of him –he was losing a lot of blood but he still wasn't where he wanted to be.

The slope of the hill up to the service road had been what had saved him minutes ago – the gunman's angle of sight severely hindered by the patchy, tall grasses and steep angle – but was now proving to be Marcus' downfall. He had to get visible from the road, or else he couldn't expect to be found anytime soon.

Meaning that he would have to move himself, which sounded like the worst idea in the world at the moment. Just as he had raised himself to his elbow, and that move had been painful enough, Marcus heard sticks snapping and leaves rustling behind him and turned his head to see Guern crashing out of the woods.

It was the best thing that Marcus had ever seen in his life and he allowed his head to drop back down to the grass in relief.

"Marcus!"

Guern knelt down next to him, immediately taking stock of his injuries as he simultaneously cursed him out. "You damned idiot, you should have waited for me before going after him like that!"

Marcus tried to smile but it probably came out more as a bashful grimace as he croaked, "Bad habit, sorry."

"Your sorry isn't going to cut it if I have to be the one to tell your son and Esca that you're dead."

That's right. Rowan and Esca. A wave of anxiety spiked up Marcus' spine and he tried to sit up, to prove to himself that he was okay and going back home tonight, only to be hit with a wave of dizzying agony.

"Calm down, Marcus. Don't move an inch until the paramedics get here."

Marcus met Guern's gaze, the older man's brown eyes were narrowed with worry and frustration and suddenly Marcus had to make sure. Grabbing onto the other's arm, he spoke up as best he could. "You'll…call Esca, right? I, I want you to call."

"I'll call him personally right after we get you loaded into the ambulance, Marcus. Until then I'm going to be right here with you."

Marcus was thankful for the support, knew that Guern's presence would keep him awake and fighting, but he really wished it was Esca beside him right now, just in case…

o

o

* * *

><p>Marcus felt as if he had been asleep for a while, but the sounds of beeping and white noise alerted him to the fact that he was not at home. It sounded like the military hospital. What had just happened? A rocket hit his vehicle? No, that didn't sound right, what was he missing…?<p>

"Marcus, are you awake?"

That lilting voice sparked a familiarity through Marcus followed by an anxiousness to open his eyes. So he pushed himself through the last layers of clinging fog into consciousness. He was immediately hit by the sensation of an aching throb in his stomach and the rest of his body feeling like lead, but he opened his eyes to see the best sight in the world. "…Esca."

Esca was perched at his bedside, a sleeping Rowan on his lap, both of them dressed in their pajamas. Esca was clutching onto the boy so tightly it was a mystery how the little guy had actually managed to fall asleep but Marcus' family was here with him. At the sound of his name, Esca had snapped into focus and just like that the worried young man clinging to comfort became a raging fury. "I can't believe you, you fucking arse! Only you would stumble onto a bloody robbery and get shot on Halloween!"

Marcus' eyes flickered down to Rowan who had begun to wake from the volume of Esca's tirade.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to get a call at one in the morning saying that your boyfriend's been shot and is maybe even fucking dying?"

"_Esca_." Marcus's quick warning cut the blonde off only a breath before Rowan opened his eyes. The boy's wide green gaze immediately locked onto Marcus and grew watery. Opening his arms, Marcus let his son crawl out of Esca's grasp and onto his cot. "Hey, buddy. It's alright, I'm okay."

Shaking his head, Rowan just buried his face into Marcus' right shoulder, luckily the one that hadn't been shot. Marcus sort of wished that the other shoulder was healthy too though because Esca, for all his anger, looked like he wanted to do exactly the same thing. Rubbing Rowan's back, Marcus nodded with his head for Esca to come closer. Esca was on him in a heartbeat, kissing him.

When they broke for air, Marcus murmured, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Esca snorted, sniffing back tears he was too proud to shed. "Shut up. I'm not forgiving you that easy."

Marcus nodded but kissed him once more before leaning back in bed. "What happened?"

"You mean after you were shot and left for dead in a ditch?"

Marcus rolled his eyes but nodded, "Yeah, after that?"

"I got a call from your partner Guern and we drove over here while you were in emergency operation." Esca swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, settling back into his chair. "The doctor said that your shoulder was going to be okay with just a few stitches and your ribs were just going to be bruised for a while from the bullet-proof vest. He said they managed to get the bullet out of your intestines but that you would need to be on a liquid diet for two weeks or so, so I hope you like soup and smoothies. You even managed to tear the muscles in your left thigh – how'd that happen?"

Marcus frowned down at the aforementioned leg through the thin hospital blanket. "It's my weak leg. I think I hurt it when I scaled that fence."

"Christ, you're impossible."

"But there were no complications or permanent damage, right?"

Esca bit his lip then nodded jerkily. "Yeah, you should heal."

"Then see? It's okay. I'm going to be fine."

Shaking his head, Esca nonetheless got out of his chair again and ran his fingers through Marcus' short hair before he leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.

"What the hell is this?"

Hearing the voice, both men looked toward the doorway but it was Rowan who had lifted his head from his father's shoulder and spoke first. "Mom?"

Marcus momentarily wondered if he had too high a dose of pain killers in his system because Amanda was at the door of his hospital room. Her long brown hair was done up in artful curls spilling over her shoulders and she was dressed in the newest cut of jeans with matching blouse and handbag. She was as beautiful as always but her brown eyes were angry as she stormed into the room. "Marcus Flavius Aquila, what the hell are you doing? I knew I'd get this call someday but I didn't expect to come in here to see our son sandwiched between you and some scrawny kid while you made out!"

"Uh," Marcus couldn't even begin to form his thoughts together into a coherent sentence before Amanda was storming forward, one of her manicured hands reaching out. "Rowan, come over here."

"But, Daddy-"

"Rowan, come on."

The young boy pouted but dutifully detached himself from his father and padded over to grab his mother's hand. Marcus watched, frowning, suddenly feeling very tired. "Amanda…do we have to do this now? In front of Rowan?"

His ex-wife shook her head, brown curls flying over her shoulder, "No, Marcus. This was why we divorced. Because I knew that I'd get yourself killed. But I still came when the hospital called me," it was true, Marcus had neglected to switch his emergency contact list after the divorce. "I didn't want Rowan to be alone but I guess that wasn't really a problem, was it? When were you going to tell me about him?"

"We don't really talk any more. I didn't think it was something to call you about. It _is_ my life." Marcus grimaced as a slight shift in weight sent a twinge of agony through his system. His pain medication was probably wearing off.

Noticing his discomfort, Esca gripped his arm. The young blonde had been quiet up to now, although his cool gray eyes had been sharp and guarded since Amanda's entrance, but now he murmured soothingly. "Calm down. I'll go get the nurse."

Clearly he had been looking for an excuse to leave the room. Marcus let him go, wanting him to be free of the tension and really looking forward to a new dose of pain killers. In fact, guessing the conversation that was about to take place, "Esca, why don't you take Rowan. After you find a nurse you can take him down the cafeteria, maybe get him some hot chocolate or ice cream?"

Esca looked tensely toward Amanda then back to Marcus. His back straightened before he nodded. Having listened in to the conversation, Rowan darted over to take his hand. "Yeah, alright. Maybe just hot chocolate though, yeah? You stuffed yourself full of candy before bed. And maybe we can also tell your Dad's friends that he's alright while we're out."

Marcus started, "There are more people outside?"

Fixing him with a fond '_you're an idiot'_ expression, Esca nodded. "It's a bloody circus outside. There are at least a dozen uniforms out in the lobby looking for news on how _Sergeant Aquila_'s doing. I'd guessed you were popular but I hadn't really expected that sort of fanbase, which is silly now that I think about it."

"My dad is the best cop ever and everyone knows it." Rowan was quiet, enthusiasm quelled somewhat by his father's condition but the pride was still clearly there.

Esca nodded again absently, squeezing the kid's hand, "Yeah. We can also see if they have any more news about the bast-guy who did this to you. Be back soon."

Once they were gone from the room, Marcus turned to the matter at hand. "What are you doing here, Amanda?"

Amanda shifted, looking confused for a moment before her face grew gentle. "I really did come to check on you. We may be divorced but that doesn't mean I wouldn't come to see you if I thought you were dying."

Well, when she put it that way… "Point taken."

"This doesn't mean I'm okay with your new choice in friends though. Since when have you been gay?"

"I'm not gay." It had been an instant denial, but Marcus felt it deep in his gut as he amended, "It's, it's just him. Just Esca. It's not like I was checking out the guys in the barracks back in the day or anything."

Amanda didn't look completely convinced, but her frown lessened somewhat, telling Marcus that she had been momentarily satisfied. That didn't stop her from continuing, "But still, to raise Rowan in that sort of environment…"

The surge of irritation only served to aggravate Marcus' stomach. "Amanda, you left Rowan with me to raise. As I see it, the best thing I could have done for him was to give him another stable adult in his life. Esca is a great guy, and he's really good with Rowan."

Sighing, Amanda just stared at him for a moment then nodded. Marcus couldn't remember a time when she had looked so mature, and it was somewhat of a comfort to know that she cared about Rowan's wellbeing enough for that maturity to come out, even if she was worried about something so stupid. "I guess I'll have plenty of time to see that for myself."

Wait, "What?"

"I took the week off from my job. It wasn't a problem with my bosses because it was for such a good reason so I guess that since you're okay I'm just going to be able to relax, take the time to visit old friends here in Calleva."

"Great. What hotel are you going to stay at?"

"I'm not staying at a hotel. Why would I spend that much money when I know you have a guestroom at the house?"

Shit.

"It'll even work for you. I can help look after Rowan when I'm not out visiting friends. It'll be less to worry about when you're like this," she waved to his bedridden state. "Maybe you can even you out on dates with your little boy toy."

The way that she was snickering disheartened Marcus a little. She clearly wasn't taking his new apparent relationship seriously. Which, Marcus supposed, was a better reaction than straight up antagonism. But it would make life awkward, especially because Esca was most definitely living with them now.

Marcus kind of hoped that he would be stuck in the hospital for a while.

As his luck had it, Marcus was ready for discharge just two days later. The thieves who had attacked him had been caught just two hours after Marcus had woken up the first time, pulled over by a cruiser two counties over. The cops hadn't gone easy on them – police officers were brothers in arms regardless of any particular precinct, and news of Marcus' near-death attack had spread faster than the criminals had managed to flee. The two men were arrested and the one who Marcus had shot had been taken to the hospital – he had been until then bleeding out in the passenger seat. Marcus considered the outcome a complete victory because in the end no one had died and the bad guys had been caught without anyone else being hurt.

He was, however, far less optimistic about his personal recovery, due entirely to the fact that his ex-wife wanted to vacation in his and his new boyfriend's house. Which used to be her house. Awkward was an understatement, and the tension was near tangible. Luckily, there had been no confrontation over who was at the house because Esca had stayed at his side in the hospital as much as possible between classes and picking Rowan up from kindergarten. The blonde had only gone back to the Aquila house for brief minutes to shower and get two hour naps and had reported that he hadn't seen Amanda but he had found her bags in the office and that the day bed in the same room had been turned down for sleep.

After her first visit, Amanda had returned to the hospital to visit once, mercifully when Esca wasn't there. She brought Marcus food and talked about how her life was going. It was nice to hear how she had done over the last year and a half since they had separated – she had gotten a job as a secretary at a prestigious law firm, was renting a nice apartment in the middle of the downtown area in her new city. Everything seemed to be going well for her. Her constant talking did get tiring, but at least she wasn't expecting him to carry any of the conversation.

When Esca visited, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Esca was clearly still worried but he still sat with him, just keeping him company as they watched bad daytime television. It was especially nice when Esca brought Rowan with him. The boy was so excited, wanting to tell Marcus everything that had happened to him that day in kindergarten.

And after two days, Marcus had been given the okay to go home. At this point, the only thing for him was bed rest and a periodic changing of his bandages. And no solid food, which Marcus was already missing. Both of those could be done at home with very little training. Esca had just needed to watch the nurse do the bandaging once before the woman had given him a bag full of bandages and antiseptic.

And as much as his stomach had ached, Marcus had refused the offer of a wheelchair to bring him out to the car. Instead he had walked out with Esca right at his side, just in case he stumbled. It was willpower alone that truly got Marcus to the car, but he had at least been able to leave on his own power.

It felt indescribably great to be back at the house. Since they returned right before one, Esca had immediately needed to head back out to collect Rowan, leaving Marcus to get comfortable on the couch. He had just found the perfect position, with his left leg propped up so that the muscles in his thigh could stretch. It was a little painful but it was necessary in order to get the limb back into working shape. Closing his eyes, Marcus heaved a little sigh, wincing when he heard the front door bang open.

"Oh, Marcus! When did you get back?"

Amanda. Marcus didn't even bother to open his eyes. "Just a few minutes ago."

"How lucky! I went out and brought groceries this morning. I was going to make us soup. You know, the minestrone, your favorite. Just like old times. Sound good?"

'Just like the old times' meant that she was going to open up some soup cans and heat it up because as far as Marcus knew, Amanda knew how to cook about as much as he did, which wasn't much at all. Still, as far as his current diet went, minestrone was at least a change in taste. "Sounds good, thanks."

"No problem." Marcus grunted as Amanda took a seat next to him, shifting over as best he could to make room for her. Smiling, she ran her fingers through his hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Unsurprisingly, not too much better. It turns out that getting shot doesn't feel that great."

Amanda giggled a little at this. "I guess that was something you didn't end up experiencing in battle. You just got a ruined leg instead. What a tradeoff, right?"

"Hah, yeah." Marcus allowed himself to close his eyes. Though Amanda hadn't been a part of his life in a long time she was still a source of comfort and he was feeling pretty awful. Even though that last comment had stung a bit; after all, it had been the biggest relief that his leg _hadn't_ been completely ruined.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when Amanda pet through his short hair again, her voice soft as she murmured. "You're doing really well though, Marcus. I mean, except for this whole getting shot thing. You're still making good money, Rowan's so well behaved. You're as handsome as ever. It's kind of making me remember why I fell for you in the first place."

This conversation was getting awkward, and Marcus kept his eyes closed in hopes of avoiding the growing tension. What he wasn't expecting was the pair of lips pressing against his. Hazel eyes snapping open, Marcus jerked back as much as he could, which really wasn't far considering his lack of mobility. "Amanda, what the hell?"

The woman just sighed then plastered herself against him, her breasts pressing against his chest as she pushed him down into the cushions. When she tucked her head against his collarbone, Marcus was disturbed to see that he couldn't see her face, just a mass of dark brown curls. He felt warm breath sink through the thin cotton of his shirt. "Marcus, I made a huge mistake asking you for that divorce. I didn't realize how good I had it here with you, with Rowan, until I left. I miss you."

"Amanda…it can't be that easy." Marcus pushed his ex-wife away, trying to be gentle despite the smoldering anger flaring inside him. "You left. You left your son and you left me with a five-year-old kid and a full-time job with no idea how to balance the two. These last two years have been really hard. I've had to work hard. If it hadn't been for Esca, we would have been a mess by now."

"Esca," Amanda spat his name and Marcus saw a flash of ugliness and pettiness that he had never seen before. "He's taking advantage of you. You're some stupidly adorable older vet who needed help and had money. He saw that and he's taking advantage of you. Marcus, you have to know that. How much money have you given him already?"

"Don't talk about him like that." Marcus had almost growled but he had meant it. "You have no idea what we have and how backwards you have it."

With a groan of exasperation, Amanda took Marcus' face in her slim hands. "Marcus, I know you. You're not gay. This thing is, it's stupid. We need to get the family back together again, and you need to get a woman back in your life. You need _these_ back in your life."

Marcus blinked, stunned, as she grabbed his large hands and pressed them against her breasts.

"Oi!"

Esca was standing at the front door, Rowan peeking out scared from behind him as Esca's eyes narrowed in rage.

"Esca-"

Esca immediately broke Marcus off, eyes flashing even as the older man snatched his hands back from Amanda's chest. "Rowan, go play outside. Now."

The child dutifully shot off toward the back of the house as Esca stomped over to the two of them. Marcus was horrified, brain stuttering to think of a reason why he and his ex might be feeling each other up other than doing something more productive and appropriate. However, much to Marcus' shock, Esca focused most of his attention on Amanda when he stalked over to them, finger jabbing the air emphatically. "I knew I was going to be pissed off when I saw your fucking car in the driveway but this is bullshit. I 'm only going say this once – don't you dare try to get back together with him. You had your chance and you threw it away. He's mine now, and I'm definitely not going to fuck this up like you did."

"I'm not going to take that shit from you, you freeloader." Amanda had stood during Esca's confrontation. With her heels on, she was an inch taller than the blonde student but she definitely was not intimidating him. Marcus felt a bubble of happiness swell in his chest from Esca's words. '_He's mine now_.' Marcus never pegged himself as liking that sort of possessiveness, but Esca's ferocity certainly made it more attractive. Marcus blinked out of his thoughts when Amanda rounded on him, a pouting frown twisting her glossy-red lips downwards. "Marcus, you can't be serious about him. While you were in the hospital I called my boss to do a background check on him and I can tell you right now that he is not going to be good for you! Do you know that he was arrested three times in Scotland?"

"I was a kid, we were just fucking around!"

"I heard you stole and vandalized shit. I bet you would have gotten jail time if you hadn't been underage." Advancing on Esca, Amanda poked him savagely in the chest. "I know that you're taking advantage of Marcus, and I have the evidence to prove that you're a lying, stealing little bastard."

"Amanda, enough!" Marcus had heard enough – he wasn't just going to lie there and let them argue over _him_. Both of them started at his sharp tone though, as if they had forgotten that he was even there. With a sigh, Marcus pushed himself into a sitting position, managing to send a zing of pain through his gut, and dragging a grunt of discomfort from his throat. Esca immediately sat down beside him to provide support, a concerned rebuke ready on his thin lips.

"Marcus, you tosser, the doctor said not to bend at the waist if you could help it. Do you _want_ to go back to the hospital for another week?"

Taking the question as rhetorical, Marcus grit his teeth through the aftershocks of pain prompted by the shift, and focused on Esca's hand rubbing comforting circles across his shoulders instead of replying. When the pain had finally shrunk to a manageable level, he opened his eyes again and locked gazes with his ex-wife. "Look, Amanda, I appreciate that you're worried about me. Really, it's good to know that you still feel enough for me as a human being to come down here after everything that happened with the divorce. But we can't get together again. As strange as it may seem to you, I am with Esca now, and I plan to be for as long as he'll have me. So, I'm sorry, but I've made a new life for myself, and I hope that you can respect that and move on."

Amanda gasped out a little noise of confusion and despair, digging her manicured fingers through her curly hair. "But Marcus, I just don't get this. I mean, I never even knew that you were fucking _gay_! I just, I can't just get over this!"

"Learn to," Esca growled. In a move of utter possessiveness, the blonde grabbed the back of Marcus' head, holding him in place and swooping in to press their lips together. Stunned, Marcus couldn't help but go with it, opening his mouth to allow Esca's insistent tongue entrance, grunting when Esca delved in with lusty abandon. The very fact that his ex-wife was standing there slack-jawed watching them couldn't even phase him when Esca was kissing him so fiercely.

Finally, needing to breathe, Marcus pulled his lips away, pecking Esca as the younger tried to follow his mouth. It was only when Amanda shifted, the movement of fabric drawing his attention, that Marcus turned back to her. "As you can see, I am serious about him. But if you're interested in spending more time with Rowan instead of having sex with me, then we can work something out. You may have given me full custody but I couldn't say anything against him spending time with his mom. I'd understand if you needed time to work a schedule out but this could be a great opportunity for him."

Amanda seemed, fort the first time, to be at a loss for words. She opened her mouth once, twice, and then finally stuttered out. "I-I'll think about it. But right now I'm going home. I'll pack my things and then I'm gone."

She nearly fled upstairs to the office/guest room, leaving Esca and Marcus sitting on the couch. After a long moment of simple silence, Marcus released a long sigh and turned his head down to stare at his knees. "I'm sorry for that, Esca. For this whole mess."

Humming, Esca just drew his legs up onto the cushion and leaned his cheek against the older man's shoulder. "No harm done. To be honest, I knew that I'd have to fend off rivals at some point or another," he chose to ignore Marcus' snort, "though I didn't honestly expect it to be your ex so soon in our relationship."

"Yeah, me neither." Marcus swallowed thickly as his gaze darted up Esca's body to his sharp blue eyes dancing in amusement. The midday sun was lighting his features perfectly, casting shadows and highlights across his angular face and making his pale skin look almost like carved stone. Licking his suddenly dry lips, Marcus pulled Esca by the shoulders close enough to hear a private response. "I feel like I should be declaring my undying love to you right now." When Esca cracked a small, almost nervous, smile, Marcus felt all of his attempts at cynicism die in his throat. What had seconds ago been joking banter became all too serious. This was Esca. Though they had been together as lovers for only a matter of weeks, it was the best relationship that Marcus had ever known. Esca was terrific with Rowan, he didn't care about his scar, and he was beautiful. He might be an imperfect person but Marcus loved him for all of his temper and guarded mannerisms. Just the thought of returning back to Amanda after knowing him made Marcus' heart clench painfully in his chest.

"Esca," Marcus' voice was thick in his throat but he placed his hand over Esca's slender one. Esca met his gaze and swallowed, his obvious nervousness prompting Marcus forward. "I would never choose anyone over you. I do love you."

"Christ." Esca laughed, a sharp, broken sound. "You are so fucking serious all the time. You bastard," drawing closer to the older man. He pressed a gentle, long kiss to Marcus' lips. "Love you too though."

After that day, Amanda moved out of their house, returning to her apartment. It wasn't long after that Marcus learned through what mutual friends they had left that Amanda had actually overextended her finances. She had been living as if she still had unlimited access to Marcus' bank account. Which explained the sudden renewal of interest. Marcus had accepted it with exasperated resignation – Amanda had only kissed and fooled around with him when she wanted something before, he wasn't surprised that things hadn't changed since their divorce.

Esca officially changed his address to the Aquila household just a week after Marcus returned from the hospital. Not only was he now irrevocably part of the family, but Marcus' house was also closer to his university than his old apartment had been. With Esca and Rowan in school, Marcus had remained at home for two weeks of recovery time from his bullet wounds before he had grown tired of laying around an empty house and had stumbled back to the police station. Though he had been relegated to desk jobs for another two weeks, it was worth it to go back to work.

By Christmas, Rowan was introducing them as his two dads, much to Marcus' joy. It had been a long road, but this life, right now, was perfect, and Marcus wouldn't change it for the world.


End file.
